Point That Wand at Me and See What Happens
by ReaperofDarkness
Summary: "Grayson! Grayson! Dammit Grayson, get your ass in here!" "Damian, it's like, seven in the morning. What do you – IS THAT AN OWL!" Full Summary inside. Redid chapter 4.
1. Is that an owl?

**Reaper: **THIS IS MY FIRST BATMAN STORY - DON'T KILL ME! I've recently been pulled into Batman and let me tell you - I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE~! Like serious, why the muffin didn't I get into Batman sooner? Granted, Dick Grayson is my favorite character, but Damian is my favorite Robin. Well, second favorite. Dick is my FAVORITE Robin. Period. Uh - ANYWAYS. I got this idea when I was looking through the BatmanxHP crossover fics and realized I didn't see any with Dick or Damian. This kind of shocked me. Dude, Damian would be perfect to throw into a magic-learning school! Seriously, he would...y'know, when he wasn't threatening everyone and stuff. ANYWAYS, I'll apologize before hand that **the characters might be (more likely) OOC**. Sorry about that - I'm never good with getting a character's personality down. NEVER.

**Title: **Point That Wand at Me and See What Happens

**Summary: **Damian Wayne and Dick Grayson never expected to attend a magical school. One a teacher and the other a under aged student. Of course, the students don't know who to fear more - the revived Dark Lord or the newest addition to their student population - Damian. With Harry suffering from nightmares connected to Voldemort, what will become of the famous Boy-Who-Lived as he gets tangled in the drama surrounding the demon-child and the muggle teacher?

**Pairings: **Whatever. I'm warning you now - **one way or another, there will be some form of SLASH in this story. **Just saying that now - I don't care if it is one-sided, fluff, or eefing daydreaming - you **will **see some form of slash in this story. If you don't like it, you don't like. You can skip over it or click the back button. Just don't bitch to me about 'ew, don't make it slash' or 'ew, that's so grow'. My fanfic, MY PAIRINGS. If you have a pairing you'd like to have shown in this story, don't be afraid to ask. I will only ask one thing - **NO CROSSOVER PAIRINGS. **That means, N.O. on Harry suddenly falling in love with Damian or Hermione throwing herself at Dick. No. Just, no. I don't like pairings like that so please, don't ask. I repeat, **please don't ask. **If you are wishing a specific character from a DC comic, please just be all 'yo, author dude, can I have -insert person- come in so like, -character- could have their buddy-buddy/girlfriend?' Yeah, I don't even care if you ask in that type of way. Whatever floats your boat.

**Rating: **T just because of Damian...he needs his own rating - Rating D for Damian. Seriously.

**DISCLAIMER: I. OWN. NOTHING. DC Comics and J. own their characters. I MERELY own the idea (if that) and the random OCs that will be popping up. **

**WITH THAT BEING SAID - READ ON! **Oh yeah, and forgive me for my writing - it isn't the best.** Also, if you see any mistakes or errors, please fell free to point them out. Thank you.  
><strong>

"….what?"

The room was silent, all of them looking to Dumbledore, who looked out the window.

"You're bringing _muggles _into the school, sir? Are you serious?" Minerva McGonagall gasped, her aged, wrinkled face paling at the thought. Dumbledore closed his wise yet tired eyes, nodding his head.

"Why sir?" Severus Snape asked as he crinkled his nose in disgust.

"Well, only one of the two is a muggle, the other was a wizard who had been hidden under the radar until recently. But I will be bringing both in because not only does the magical boy need protection, but the muggle is known for being…a hero, of sorts, in his town. He also has a history of protecting cities and with only his human limits, is seems. I think it'd be a perfect opportunity to have a class….Muggle Arts of Defense," Dumbledore explained and stroked his beard.

"As in…if they are rendered wandless, they can….protect themselves?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow, thinking over the idea. Albus nodded, his eyes sparkling s he saw his two trusted friends think it over.

"I don't see why…why not," Minerva finally gave in, nodding her head. Snape also nodded, though his eyes were gleaming darkly.

"Does this mean we'll be introducing Hogwarts to its first muggle?" The Potions Master asked, watching as Albus's lips twitched upwards into a smile.

"Yes, my dear boy, it does," Albus chuckled and Minerva smiled softly.

"Who are the two, Albus?" Minerva asked and Albus smiled, looking off towards the far wall.

"Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul," Albus informed and both Snape and Minerva couldn't stop their eyes from widening. Bruce Wayne was a known playboy millionaire even in the Magic world and Talia al Ghul…

"Talia al Ghul!" Minerva gasped, her face pale. "As in the Talia al Ghul who's the daughter of Ra's al Ghul?" Minerva asked, her eyebrows furrowing. Albus nodded.

"Sir, is it wise to allow a student who has the blood of an al Ghul to be a student?" Snape asked, also looking slightly concerned.

After all, Ra's al Ghul was a feared name (though not as feared as You-Know-Who) in the Wizarding world as rumors of his 600 plus life span thanks to the infamous Lazarus Pit spread through the realm.

"It is fine," Albus reassured, smiling, "this is a reason to have the muggle attending – he keeps the young Damian in check," the Headmaster stated and both shared looks of uncertainty.

"And the muggle, sir?" Snape asked.

"Richard 'Dick' Grayson. I've heard he's had a very hard life so he'll fit in just right with the rest of the students," Albus explained and the two nodded.

"If I'm not mistaken, the young Damian Wayne should be receiving his letter as we speak."

**X.x.X.x.X**

"Grayson! Grayson! Dammit Grayson, get your ass in here!" The voice held no room for excuses as a boy, looking to be the age ten or eleven, yelled heatedly for the said 'Grayson'.

"Damian, it's like, seven in the morning. What do you – IS THAT AN OWL?" Damian watched with amused expression as his caretaker, Dick, flailed his arms around in an alarmed fashion, his eyes wide.

"Good Grayson, you know your animals," Damian mocked and Dick gave him a look before turning his blue eyes back to the animal that was defiantly a ways away from its home.

Dick reached over, unlatching the window lock and pushing the window open in an attempt to grab the bird. The owl fluttered over the adult's head and flew over, dropping a letter from its beak before flying out of the open window. Both vigilantes watched after the bird before turning their attention to the letter.

"Is it some kind of new trick by the Joker or something…?" Dick asked uncertain as his little brother reached over, his hands wrapped around the tightly sealed letter.

"Damian Wayne, fifth bedroom, Wayne Manor," Damian read off, eyebrow raised. Dick's eyebrows shot up, confused by the odd address. He flipped the letter over, mentally running off the different seals he knew.

"….this isn't a common seal. It looks like some school crest or something…" Damian muttered as he squinted his blue eyes, trying (and failing) to make out the letters blurred on the wax seal.

"Want me to open it?" Dick asked as he saw Damian glare at the envelope.

"No," the child snapped and all but violently tore the letter open, the child-like curiosity getting the best of him.

He took out the folded pieces of paper and blinked, his eyes squinting yet again at the neatly written words.

"Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry…what?" Damian asked after a second, his eyes not leaving the large letters. Dick shuffled over and sat down next to the boy, reading over his shoulder.

"Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First class, Grand sorcerer, Chief. Warlock,  
>Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)….is this a joke?" Damian pondered, glaring at the paper as if it'd suddenly burst into flames. When it didn't he grumbled and read on, seeing as Dick was reading ahead.<p>

"Dear Mr. Wayne, We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31st July. Also, please not that _this is not a joke. _If you don't send your owl by the 31st then we'll be forced to send for you. Yours Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress."

Damian looked offended. Were…were they _threatening _him? Telling him that he _must _attend this 'Hogwarts' place? Unlike his father, Damian actually believed in magic. After all, having a grandfather who had a pit of immortality didn't seem like the norm, now did it? And from what he heard from stories from the other Robins, Bruce had his own run ins with magic, so….

"'Also we would like to invite your guardian, Dick Grayson, to join us in a year at Hogwarts as a teacher. He will not have to learn any magic as he'll be teaching a new course – Muggle Defense. You will teach young witches and wizards to protect themselves when they are wandless.' Wandless. _Wandless_? Oh god," Damian groaned and Dick raised an amused eyebrow before shaking his head as the child fell into his thoughts. When he came out of his thoughts Dick was already shuffling through the other folded papers, reading off the list of supplies. He handed the list to Damian, who scanned it.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry_

_Uniform:_  
><em>First year students will require:<em>  
><em>1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)<em>  
><em>2. one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear<em>  
><em>3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)<em>  
><em>4. One winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)<em>

_Set Books_  
><em>All Students should have a copy of the following:<em>  
><em>The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk<em>  
><em>A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot<em>  
><em>Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling<em>  
><em>A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch<em>  
><em>One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllis Spore<em>  
><em>Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger<em>  
><em>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander<em>  
><em>The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble<em>

_Other Equipment_  
><em>1 wand<em>  
><em>1 cauldron (pewter standard size 2)<em>  
><em>1 set of glass or crystal phials<em>  
><em>1 telescope<em>  
><em>1 set of brass scales<em>

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS._

Damian snorted at the last sentence. Oh course they'd have broomsticks – they were _wizards _and _witches _after all.

"Do you believe this is real?" Dick asked after he watched his partner mentally sneer at the letters. Damian blinked at him, his face scrunching up as if Dick had just insulted him. Though, with the way the spoiled child thought, he might have without knowing.

"Of course I do, you idiot. I have no reason _not _to," Damian stated with a snap, folding the letters up and moving out of bed, stumbling slightly when his foot got caught in his blanket. He whirled around to glare at Dick, who looked away innocently as to not show he saw the stumble.

He walked to his desk, looking at it for a second before pulling out a paper and a pen. Dick watched, curious.

"What are you doing?" Dick asked with that tone of his that always made heat boil its way through Damian's veins. It sounded so clueless! It angered Damian to no end!

"Writing my response, Grayson. Did you not read it? If I don't send a response, they'll come for me. We don't want that, now do we Grayson?" Damian asked as calmly as he could, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes as Dick merely titled his head to the smile, a innocent smile playing on his lips.

"Okay," was all the man said before he moved out of the room, leaving a seething Robin.

**X.x.X.x.X**

"We've received Daman Wayne's response, sir," Minerva announced and Dumbledore looked up from his desk with a smile, his eyes sparkling.

"Thank you Minerva, you may go," Albus spoke and Minerva nodded, looking like she wanted to say something but held it in. She shook her head and left, Albus staring at the response letter with a spinning mind.

**X.x.X.x.X**

"I swear, when I get to that school I'm punching their stupid British faces …." Damian seethed, grumbling under his breath as he stood beside Dick, who gave a chuckle at his little brother.

"Platform 9 ¾ ….. platform 9 ¾!" Damian burst with anger, his fists clenched as irritation started to get the better of him. They were currently standing at King's Cross station, looking for said platform. They had, during the time before Hogwarts was to start, had met a wizard who had happened to be passing Gotham on a way to Jump City. The nice fellow decided to take Damian to Diagon Alley out of the good-will of his heart. As the day ended Damian came back home with the wizard crying and begging for the 'demonic You-Know-Who mini child' to spare him. Dick didn't ask questions, apologized to the traumatized wizard, and immediately grounded the boy for the remainder of the summer.

"Are you looking for Platform 9 ¾?" A voice asked and the two Bats turned, staring at the boy before them. He was short and skinny; his eyes a shocking green and his hair fluffy and jet black. His eyes, showing behind round spectacles, blinked at the two helpful. He smiled, Damian's eyes moving to lightning bolt shaped scar on the boy's forehead.

"Yeah, we are actually," Dick spoke and the boy flashed a confused look to the adult for a second before flinching, seeing Damian glare.

"This way. We better hurry, it closes at eleven," the helpful boy spoke and lead the two to a pillar between platform 9 and platform 10.

"Of course," Damian grumbled, "it had to be as _simple _as that."

"How do we get there?" Dick asked, as cheerful as ever. Damian resisted the urge to stab him with one of his many hidden knives, thinking of all the people who'd see it. Not that he couldn't take them, of course, just…there were a _lot _of them. Yeah, that's all.

"You run into it, of course. Like this," the boy explained and the two heroes could only watch with wide eyes as the boy ran into the pillar and went through it. Damian and Dick shared a look before smirks tugged on their lips.

"One," Damian spoke, his grip on his cart tightening.

"Two," Dick breathed as he placed a hand on Dick's shoulder, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Three!" Both boys called and rushed, Dick closing his eyes as they felt a cool breeze pass through them. Dick opened his eyes, blinking at the sight of the crimson and black train before them.

"Whoa," both boys breathed out, Damian not even trying to hide his awe.

"Uh…is your dad a wizard?"

The two looked over, seeing the helpful boy from before standing there. They both blinked.

"No," Damian stated and the boy's eyes went wide.

"He can't be here! Muggles aren't allowed," the boy stated and looked around. Damian clenched his hands tightly about the handles of his cart.

"Grayson's allowed to be here, he's going to be teaching at the school. And he's not my father," Damian snapped and shoved pasted the shocked boy.

"Sorry for his behavior. He doesn't like people mistaking me for his father," Dick apologized and watched as the green eyed boy shook his head furious, his cheeks heated slightly.

"N-no, I should be the one to apologize! I didn't realize you were a professor…" the boy trailed off and Dick laughed.

"Don't sweat it. I'm…uh…a muggle. What does that mean, anyways?" Dick asked and the boy blinked.

"Nonmagic folk," he stated bluntly and Dick gave a low chuckle.

"Well then, yes, I'm a muggle. I'll be teaching Muggle Defense at your school. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find Dami before he stabs someone," Dick waved and left leaving the boy by himself.

"_Stab _someone?" the boy gasped out, flabbergasted.

**ON THE TRAIN.**

It didn't take Dick long to find his partner – he was already threatening to bite someone's face off.

"Damian! Stop acting like a cannibal!" Dick scolded, grabbing hold of his young adopted brother's shirt collar, watching as the child let out a string of colorful curses. The people watching could only stare.

The boy Damian had been messing with sniffled, blood running down his face.

"When my father hears about this-!" The child didn't finish as a foot slammed into his chest, sending him back. Dick huffed and picked up the child, throwing him over his shoulder as he yelled out swears and threats of stabbing every single one of them.

They found an empty compartment and sat down, Damian seated across from Dick with his arms crossed and his face twisted into one of rage.

"Dami…." Dick trailed off as Damian's eyes fell onto him, his blue eyes (not hidden by a mask since they weren't allowed to wear masks) livid.

"Calm down, please?" Dick gave him a small smile, his head titled to the side slightly. Damian froze, staring at Dick as if he just spoke satanic tongues or something. Dick giving Damian the 'cute calm down' look always caught the child off guard.

"I will kill you Grayson," the boy muttered before looking out the window. Dick gave a chuckle and looked up as the compartment door opened, the boy from earlier standing there.

"Bloody 'ell, you're the bloke that bashed Malfoy's face in!" The ginger in the group gapped, the girl with them smacking him on the arm. Dick and Damian stared at them.

"Don't know, don't care," Damian spoke and went back to staring out the window. Dick gave another chuckle and watched as the three settled themselves into the compartment, the air falling into a comfortable silence.

"So, you said you'd be the new Muggle Defense teacher?" the boy with the scar asked. Dick nodded. The girl perked up.

"Muggle Defense?" She asked, her eyes moving to Dick.

"I'll be teaching self-defense," Dick explained and the girl smiled.

"Oh, how interesting," she spoke and Damian snorted.

"Grayson, I'm hungry," Damian stated in a voice that they could tell was spoiled. Dick shook his head, digging into his duffle bag. He pulled out a pack of crisps and handed them to the boy, who instantly started eating.

"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl spoke, holding her hand out for Dick to shake. Dick smiled and shook her hand, introducing himself.

"Grayson….that name sounds familiar," Hermione muttered more to herself and shook her head, looking to her companions.

"This is Ronald Weasley," she pointed to the ginger who was drooling while looking at Damian's chips, "and Harry Potter." The three waited for Damian to do something, but when no outburst of glee or awe came they blinked. Damian, being the oversensitive ninja he was, felt their stares.

"What?" Damian snapped and the three blinked.

"Do you know who Harry Potter is?" Hermione asked, wondering if he was from Muggle parents.

"That dude. You just said his name. I'm not stupid, you harlot," Damian grumbled and Dick face-palmed, looking at the way Hermione's face flushed with offense.

"H-Harlot!" She cried. "How dare you call me a harlot!" Dick got in between the two, grabbing Damian and placing him beside the adult. Hermione seethed as Harry and Ron shared twin shrugs.

"Damian, what have I said about calling girls harlots?" Dick scolded, crossing his arms over his chest. Damian gave him a glare and also crossed his arms, grumbling darkly.

"Damian…" Dick warned, his voice using that 'I-will-ground-you' tone. Damian bit the inside of his cheek. Dick couldn't threaten him – he wasn't his father.

"If you don't apologize I won't let you patrol with me for a whole month once we get back." _Dammit! _Damian swore mentally, his hand itching to punch the adult.

"It's not like it matters – I'm going to this stupid school for an entire _year_. Drake and that clone are watching over Gotham in our absence – that's punishment enough!" Damian snarled out, his eyes narrowing at the thought of Drake doing his job. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

"Come on, I couldn't leave Gotham unattended to, Dami. Someone had to watch it unless you wanted to come back to Joker claiming Gotham as his. Can you think of what that insane mad-man could do if we weren't there? Nothing good, Damian, nothing good. That's why I asked Tim and Superboy to watch over Gotham City," Dick explained and Damian grumbled, looking like he was pouting.

"Anyway," Ron piped in, looking awkward from just listening to their two-sided conversation, "you're a first year?" Damian moved his eyes slowly to take in the ginger's appearance.

"Yeah, so what?" Damian asked and Ron stared at him with wide eyes, shivering slightly.

"Just don't get sorted into the Slytherin House," the freckled face boy spoke and Damian raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Dick asked, titling his head in curiosity. Hermione's cheeks heated up slightly at the innocent look on the adult's face and Damian mentally growled, glaring at the female.

_No matter where we are, they're throwing themselves at him, _the mature boy thought with a sneer, seeing Ron catch Hermione's blush.

"Slytherin house is where all the dark wizards go," Ron snapped out, glaring slightly at Dick, who didn't seem to notice.

"Dark wizards?" Damian asked, intrigued. Harry and Hermione nodded.

"That boy, the one you punched in the face, he was from Slytherin house," Hermione spoke and Harry tried not to snicker at the thought of Malfoy's nose bleeding.

"That's right! You bloody punched Draco Malfoy!" Ron burst with a grin, Damian staring at him with a dry look.

"Oh, that's his name?" Damian hummed uninterested, moving his attention to out the window. His eyebrow twitched as he demanded that Dick and he switch seats. Dick laughed and complied, moving to where Damian had sat. The Golden Trio blinked – the boy was such a brat. Sure, they could see he'd have a foul mood just by his body language but the boy was an utter spoiled brat! Harry mentally groaned at the thought of a second Malfoy – only more dangerous.

"So, what's this about Houses?" Dick asked with a smile, his eyes closed and showing them his long lashes. Hermione blushed again. Ron growled deep in his throat in jealousy and Harry smiled.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. We're in Gryffindor," Harry explained and motioned to his friends. Damian gave them a once over and snorted.

"What's Gryffindor house, a bunch of weaklings?" Damian asked without much of a pleasant tone, feeling tired and irritated with each passing second he was on the train. He wanted to move around!

"No!" Ron snapped, his cheeks flushing red with rage. "Gryffindor is for the brave of hearts! Courageous!" Ron spat at the child, glaring at him. Damian smirked that smirk of his that promised pain in a later date. Dick gave him a warning jab with his elbow.

"Tt," the child grumbled under his breath once again turning his attention to the passing scenery. The compartment fell into a comfortable silence and Dick couldn't have been happier.

**X.x.X.x.X**

"Damn," Damian breathed as he stared at the dark looking castle, taking in the haunting air around it. Beside him Dick blinked, looking at the towering stone building as well.

"Looks cool," Dick laughed and grunted when Damian absent-mindedly punched him in the stomach, still staring at the castle.

"First 'ears follow me!" a gruff voice bellowed, all the first years moving to the direction of the voice. Damian and Dick began to move only to be stopped by a man with greasy looking black hair and a sour expression on his pale skinned face.

"Damian Wayne and Dick Grayson, I'm assuming? I've been instructed to take you to the castle," the man stated with a tone that showed he wasn't happy with the situation. Damian looked him up and down, mentally listing all his openings and determining if he was a threat. Dick, seeing Damian on-guard, smiled and allowed the man to lead them away and to the castle.

Once inside the castle the man led them down a few dizzying corridors before bringing them to a large staircase, where a group of students were being herded by an aging woman. Damian didn't understand why they were lead separately but said nothing, watching as the man and the woman shared silent looks before casting their eyes over Dick, who was oblivious to their looks as he stared at the moving paintings. Damian held back the urge to face-palm, silently asking himself what his father was thinking by trusting Dick to watch over him.

"Once we go in you will wait for your name to be called before being sorted into your house," the aged woman spoke and opened the door, the sounds of chatter and laughter washing over the cluster of first years. Damian raised an eyebrow as they walked in, his eyes flying over the room.

Candles were hanging in the air, giving the Grand Hall a gothic theme. Dick absent-mindedly wondering if it worked outside the magic school – it'd make the Batcave look a lot more wicked. The ceiling was nonexistent as instead an image of a clear star-filled night showed when the children looked up. Dick nearly jumped out of his skin when the man from earlier placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to follow the older man. Dick waved goodbye to his protégé and followed the man, ignoring the stares and whispers of the students as he passed.

"When I call your name, please come up. Brooke Wombat," the woman spoke and Damian idly wondered what her name was.

"That's professor McGonagall," a female's mousy voice spoke from behind Damian. Damian turned, an eyebrow raised, to see a girl standing there, all smiles and sparkles. Damian's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"No one asked you," he grumbled out and the girl giggled.

"That's true, but your face said you wanted to know her name. I'm-!" The girl paused from introducing herself, taking a step back when Damian unleashed his mind version of his perfected Bat-glare.

"Don't know, don't care," he growled out and the pale girl rushed off to a group of girls, not once looking back at him. Those who were already seated and had been watching merely shook their heads. Children these days.

Damian leaned back on his left leg as he crossed his arms, bored. He glared at his robes, annoyed that he had to wear the same thing as every single person in the room. God, talk about crushing creativity. He zoned out, not even paying attention to the names being called. His eyes roamed the hall, taking in that people were staring at him. His eyes fell at the head of the hall, where a long table sat. Dick sat at the end of the table, staring directly at Damian. Dick, seeing as he caught Damian's attention, smiled widely. The boy's face scrunched up into one of disgust though if you were staring close enough, you'd have seen the slight dust of pink staining his cheeks. The man next to Dick gave him a pointed stare, as if sizing him up. Damian returned the stare and moved his gaze to the old man whose eyes twinkled – fucking _twinkled _– when Damian's blue eyes met his. Damian looked away and towards the ground, finding the surroundings annoying.

"Damian Wayne," Professor McGonagall loudly called and the room felt silent as Damian felt a smirk become to stretch over his lips.

**Reaper: **Well, how was that for a first chapter? D : I feel like I rushed things. If I did, sorry. I'll go back (in like a year or seven) and rewrite the chapter (I have a habit of doing that - waiting a few years before rewriting a chapter. I don't know why). Anyways, please share your thoughts - love it, hate it, wanna complain/vent/flame? Go ahead - just having you waste your time on me makes me happy. Have a good day/night/evening/morning (what)~!


	2. Sorting

**Reaper: **Here's the second chapter. I betcha you guys are shocked on which house Damian's sorted into. Again, still new to the fandom so I apologize if they are OOC. I just love Damian's evil-like nature, so I love jabbing at him with all the cruel titles. Teehee. My least favorite DADA teacher shows up. D : I actually spent a day trying to figure out which year I was going to have this based in. I was stuck between Fourth and Fifth year, why? Because I love the events that happens in both years. But I wanted a certain character to appear, and they are only introduced during Fifth year, so... But really, what would you rather see? Damian (if I chose fourth year) fighting dragons, sea people, and helping Harry with Voldemort? OR Damian joining Dumbledore's Army and kicking some wizard ass? Hm...yeah, it was hard me to decide too.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. NOTHING. If I owned Harry Potter, well then, I'd be filthy rich. One step closer to World Domination. If I owned Batman, well then, I'd be epically awesome. Yep. Yep. But I own neither...so I am neither. **-goes to forever alone corner-**

**I'd also like to thank these following people for reviewing and or adding this story on their favorite/alert:**

**jadeevans5 **

**MiyamotoUsagiFan **I'm glad you like this! Yeah, Snape's kinda in the middle of whether to be happy or irritated that another teacher is there to bother him (not true, we all love Snape!)

**Yellowdog262**

**nequam-tenshi **Damian doesn't need to survive Hogwarts, Hogwarts needs to survive _Damian_. LOL. Luna will...hm...in a way, show Damian that not all females are just there to distract Bruce and Dick! Yay!

**rosewatery**

**heyzz **Thank you for loving my idea. Yeah, I've read quite a few Harry Potter fics were Harry learns Martial Arts to protect himself in case he can't use his wand (or they make him able to use wandless magic). And I mean, think about having Dick teach you how to fight! -drools-. It'll be fun to write them learning to fight. I mean, if Hermione can already sucker punch without being trained, think of what she will be able to do afterwards! -jumps up and down gleefully-

**Manialoll Spins **Thank you. I've read quite a few Batman fanfics (and the first few issues of the Batman and Robin 2009 series) so I kinda got a grip of what their personalities are like. If not, Wiki is my friend. -hugs- Haha, thanks. I'll try not to lean to much on pairings or anything, unless people demand it. I'm one for romance, just not when the story is surrounded by it. So I'll just stick to the usual hints. -perverted giggle- Speaking of Tom and Kon, we'll be seeing them soon~

**Werepuppy Black**

**Mikol**

**Ellia-chan**

**hizmit12-waterlilly3721**

**annie2013**

**Kesomon**

**Whoa, I didn't realize how many people added this to their favs/alerts. Ah, you guys make me smile like the Joker. Thank you so much for reading my fanfiction! I love you guys! **

They waited with baited breaths as the first year's name was called. They looked around and saw a boy, slightly shorter than the rest of the first years, rudely shove his way through the children and walk up the stairs. The older students couldn't help but assume he'd be sorted into Slytherin. The boy's back was straight and his chin held high, the air around him confident yet reeking with the 'spoiled-I'm-a-rich-kid' feeling. His eyes were gleaming with unreadable emotions and though he held himself proudly, those used to battle could see he was on the defense, his shoulders stiff and his hands slightly curled up at his sides, not lose yet not exactly clenched into fists.

He gave Professor McGonagall an observing look-over and gingerly slipped onto the surface of the stool, his feet dangling. Some sixth year girls from the Hufflepuff table couldn't help but giggle, though their breaths left their throats as soon as a glare settled upon them. It was the type of glare that would send a gut-twisting stab of fear through your heart – a type of fear that the people watching only assumed a Dementor was able to create. The air was thick and cold, everyone feeling a shutter run down their spines as Damian all but increased the intensity of his glare, his face dark, his eyes narrowed, and his teeth gritted painfully. The girls gasped for air as their lungs failed them, their human instincts screaming mental alarms to run and hide as far away as possible from the satanic child.

A cough seemed to break the heavy atmosphere and everyone turned to the new teacher, who coughed into his clenched fists, giving Damian a pointed warning look. Damian instantly lifted his glare and gave a whispered, "tt," as Professor McGonagall just stared at the man with an odd sense of respect. Albus was right when he said the young man would keep the child in check.

"Yes-yes," Minerva spoke as everyone's attentions went away from the gasping girls to Damian, who had his arms crossed and a dark pout stretched across his face. The hat was placed on his head and it took every ounce of will power from the boy to not rip the cloth to shreds the moment he felt a voice intrude in his mind.

"_Well, never had a kid like you before," _the voice spoke and it took Damian .1 second to realize the hat on his head was speaking into his mind. He gave a warning growl as he felt his mind being poked and prodded at. He could almost see the long, slender fingers made of transparent magic shuffling through his brain, picking and pulling through memories and thoughts. It was uncomfortable, Damian had to admit, the moment he felt the being enter his mind. His mind was his and his alone – he shouldn't have someone looking at his memories. He unfolded his arms from his chest and took to gripping the edges of the stool, the wood creaking and snapping under the force of his grip as the fingers continued to dig into the boy's mentality.

"_Genetically created boy. My, first one ever in the halls of Hogwarts. Was raised by assassins – hm, it seems you don't want me to go down that hallways of memories," _The sorting hat hummed and continued his search, the wood's cries of protest growing louder until the ones closest to the sorting area could only gap, chunks of wood falling to the floor as Damian clenched his fists, a animalistic growl escaping his throat. Minerva, for her better safety, took a caution step away from the growling child as his fingernails dug into his pale skin, creating scarlet crescents that leaked red liquid.

"Just sort me, you goddamn sorry excuse of a hat before I shred you to bits!" Damian hissed out darkly, an evil, pain-inflicting smirk forming on his lips at the thought.

"_Though raised by the League of Assassins, you are loyal to your father and even promised not to kill villains. Harm them senseless, yes, but not kill. You are brave, if not stupidly bold at times, and don't know when to back down. You are very loyal to your father," _the sorting hat repeated, "_and that has guided you. Though you are grudging to admit you respect that Grayson boy, it seems. You have bravery, courage, loyalty, and nerve. The house that would be perfect for you is….._GRYFFINDOR!" The hall stared. That demon child was in _Gryffindor_? They were sure he'd be in Slytherin!

Damian frowned, no, seethed visibly as he stormed over to the Gryffindor table, not liking that he was sorted into the weak looking house. No wait, that house with the bubble-bee colors looked weaker. Damian flashed his eyes to Dick, who was trying desperately to keep from laughing. With a growl he gingerly slipped his hand into his pocket, throwing something shiny at the laughing adult.

The students stared, shocked. A knife dug into the wood chair beside Dick's head, the man looking bemused at Damian's action.

"Dammit Grayson, don't dodge!" Damian snapped and the man chuckle, finding the boy's seething face adorable.

"Sorry Damian, I do want to live a good twenty more years, you know," Dick spoke with a smile, looking at Damian with mirth filled eyes. Damian glared at him, growling.

"I'll kill you," he muttered and Dick shook his head saying, "keep tell yourself that, lil D, keep telling yourself that."

Gryffindor student shivered and gulped, wondering what would become of their house with their newest addition to their family.

Damian snorted and sat down, the people around him pushing to create a rather large space for the boy. Damian, seeing the people trying to move away from him, smirked. Though, if you were a master at facial expressions, you could have seen a pang of _something _in his eyes.

"Well then, I'd like to introduce you to our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Ms. Dolores Umbridge," Dumbledore announced and the fat, toad looking woman clad in pink stood up with a smile. She looked ready to say something but fell silent when she felt an unearthly glare pin her breath in her throat. She sat down without a word.

"Oh great," Damian mumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest, "let's hire toad as a teacher. Yeah, sure, why not." The Gryffindor students edged away quietly as the boy continued to mumble dryly to himself, his voice dimming as Dumbledore moved his eyes to Dick.

"And allow me to introduce you to the first Muggle Defense teacher, Mr. Richard Grayson. Not only is he the first teacher to be teaching this class, he's also the first **muggle **teacher to be teaching at Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained and the Grand Hall seemed to silence.

In an instance the hall burst into whispers and hushed exclaims of shock and curiosity, Dick looking flustered as many girls blushed at the sight of him.

Damian stiffened as he heard the Slytherin table burst with sneers of disgust and some even booed. Before Dumbledore could open him mouth to silence everyone, a scream sounded from the Snake table.

Damian was crouched in front of a poor sixth year, their face pale as a sharp blade pressed against their neck. Damian had a hold of his robe collar, glaring intently with raging blue eyes.

"If _any _of you dare to mock Grayson, I will kill you. **Kill you**," Damian threatened with a hiss, his glare burning through all of the Slytherin students. Some even looked faint.

"Mr. Wayne that is enough. Return to your table," Dumbledore spoke after a moment, still having to blink at the thought of see the child all but throw himself across the room in a matter of seconds. What a frightening child.

Damian grumbled as he shuffled back to his seat, people gawking at him. Dick, blinking, smiled and stood from his chair with a chuckle and a clap of his hands.

"And that, students, is what you'd learn to do if you take my class," Dick covered up and the students' eyes bulged out, looking from Dick to Damian. _They _could learn to do that? Dumbledore smiled, glad that Dick was good at covering up. No need scaring the students with a child raised by assassins now.

The hall burst into excited chatter at the thought of being able to do such an amazing action. Damian snorted and crossed him arms, ducking his head down when he saw Dick flash him a proud, thankful smile. If one were to look at the scary child, they'd see his cheeks were slightly pink.

"With that said, let the feast begin," Dumbledore spoke and Dick and Damian, along with the first years, jumped at the sight of food magically appearing. Damian poked cautiously at the food, warily pilling his plate up with food. If Alfred were to see the food magically appear, he'd probably wish to learn the spell.

Dick blinked from his position at the Teachers table, jumping when a goblet was thrust into his face.

"It's pumpkin juice," the man next to Dick sneered, looking at Dick with distain. Dick smiled and thanked the man, placing his goblet down.

"So, I'm Richard Grayson. You can call me Dick," Dick introduced with his winning smile, his hand held out to shake the man's hand. The man's eyes slid to the offered hand and sneered.

"Severus Snape. Don't touch me," he coldly dejected and Dick's smile twitched, his fingers curling slightly as he withdrew his hand. His hand fell to his side and he looked down at his plate.

"Come now Severus, don't be so rude," Minerva chided as she sat beside the gloomy man. Dick smiled at her and she returned the smile, though it was slightly tight-lipped.

"You have quite an interesting….charge, if I must say," Minerva spoke, looking to Damian. Dick chuckled.

"Yeah, he was raised by his mother so he's a little spoiled. Nothing that can't be improved," Dick hummed, smiling like a proud family member to Damian, who sneezed. He looked to the adults and glared at Dick, who chuckled.

"So, that Potter kid, is he famous?" Dick asked, tilting his head to the side as he remembered how his two friends looked so shocked at the fact that Damian didn't know who he was.

"Yes, and the boy lets the fame get to his head," Snape sneered in disgust. Dick raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his juice.

"Maybe not Potter, but his two friends seemed to think that everyone would know who Harry Potter is," Dick explained and told about his train trip. Snape and Minerva shared a look before shaking their head.

"Poor boy, doesn't know what to do with all that fame. Haha, I know how he feels," Dick laughed and rubbed the back of his neck out of habit. Minerva and Snape gave him a dry look, as if asking 'oh really?'

"And how, may I ask, do you relate?" Minerva asked as kindly as possible, giving Dick a pointed look as if saying 'try to mess with my lions'.

"Ah, I've had my share of cameras and fame," Dick laughed and took another sip of his pumpkin juice. The two professors just stared. The three fell into an awkward silence and Dick poked at his food.

"So, is the food made magically?" Dick asked after poking his chicken a little bit more. Snape gave pointed stare.

"No. Just because we can use magic doesn't mean we create food out of thin air. The House Elves make it," Snape explained and Dick stopped poking his food, looking up at the Potion Master with wide, alarmed eyes.

"House Elves?" He squeaked out, his mind coming up with images of tiny, fairy type creatures.

"Yes, House Elves," Minerva chimed in, nodding her head. The two Professors then went into detail about the House Elves and such, explaining their reasoning for working for Hogwarts.

"Whoa," Dick breathed out, blinking. Alfred must be, like, a super House Elf or something, Dick thought and gave a soft chuckle under his breath.

Dick allowed his eyes to trail back to Damian, watching how he ignored everyone to eat. Dick shook his head – the boy needed friends. Only having Colin as a friend was not enough.

"You must care the child very much to keep staring at him," Minerva stated and Dick jumped from her voice. He looked down at his food and placed his hands on either side of his plate, laughing lightly.

"I just worry about him. As I've said, he's spoiled. Though he's spoiled, he wasn't raised around any kids his age. Actually, no kids, now that I think of it. So, I'm kind of worried about how he'll take to living with other kids," Dick confessed and Minerva slid her eyes to see a brave third year trying to talk to Damian. She smiled faintly.

"He'll do fine. If anyone can befriend that boy, it'll be the Gryffindor students," Minerva stated proudly and Snape snorted into his goblet of juice. She sent him a pointed glare and he went to eating, ignoring them for the rest of the feast.

**X.x.X.x.X**

Damian glared, sitting cross-legged on the four post bed he had claimed as his. Around him, the other first years shifted their footing, feeling the glare burning holes through their robes.

"Is there a problem?" One of the first years asked as he crossed his arms, giving Damian a fed up expression.

"Yes," Damian spoke as he leaned his elbows on his knees, "you." The boy looked offended and glared at Damian, his face reddening as he clenched his fists.

"Nathan, don't start anything," one of the quieter first years whispered only to have Nathan ignore him. Nathan was a tall boy, having a head full of brown hair and a nice shade of brown eyes. He was tall, maybe taller than the usual first year, and he was lean. He was also from a Pureblood family, so he was rather prideful of his family.

"What's with you? What, did something get stuck up your arse?" Nathan sneered, sounding very much Slytherin if any of the other boys had any say in the scene before them. Damian raised a thin eyebrow, looking bored with staring at Nathan.

"No, but I wouldn't say the same for you," Damian shot back. It wasn't a very good come back but he was tired and dealing with whining children (who happened to be older than him by a year since Damian was still 10) wasn't helping his tired mind. The jet lag and new surroundings had really worn him out, even if he was used to not sleeping for a few days. He just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. Maybe dream of beating the muffins out of Joker and playing with a cat. Just an innocent dream he'd like to be a part of, yet this stupid boy was stopping him.

"I'm tired. Leave me alone," Damian stated simply and moved to crawl under the covers. Nathan's eyebrow twitched, his teeth gritting.

"Oi, you stupid-!" Nathan fell silent as he saw two fifth years walk over to them, frowns on their faces.

"Is there a problem?" Harry asked, looking between Damian and Nathan. Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering if the boy was stupid to be messing with Damian. Hadn't he been paying attention during the feast when the child all but threatened murder on all of Slytherin (and the rest of the school, at that)?

"N-no," Nathan stammered and Damian snorted against his pillow, pulling the comforter up higher towards his head. The boy next to Harry sent him a wary glance.

"Y-you're Damian, r-right? I-I'm N-Neville. Nice-nice to meet you," the boy stammered. Neville had gotten better at his stammers but after witnessing Damian's death threat, one couldn't help but stammer.

"Yes, I am. Now if you don't mind, I'm. Trying. To. Sleep," Damian gritted out and quickly sat up, pulling his curtains closed around his bed. No one spoke, all of the boys staring at the curtained bed.

"I better not see anyone else messing with a fellow Gryffindor," Harry spoke in warning and turned, Neville following behind him as the first years grumbled to themselves.

Finally, Damian could get some-

"Wayne, that muggle teacher's here to see you!"

"God dammit Grayson!"

**X.x.X.x.X**

"Come on, I said I was sorry," Dick apologized for the hundredth time as he walked beside his protégé, students stepping out of the way politely at the sight of a professor. Damian grumbled darkly, glaring and wishing he could smack the smiling man. The damned adult didn't even sound sorry!

They walked into the Grand Hall, both males blinking at how deserted it was. Now that Damian thought of it, there were barely any students in the hall.

"I guess no one else wakes up at seven in the morning," Damian muttered sourly to himself, moving to take a seat at the Gryffindor table. Dick followed, plopping down beside him.

"Well Lil D, not everyone was trained to do so," Dick stated and Damian shot him a glare. His glare slowly disappeared as he stared past Dick, looking behind him. Dick turned and blinked at the sight of what Damian was staring at.

A young girl sat alone at the Ravenclaw table, an oddly shaped hair clip in her hair and a necklace of bottle caps around her neck. She was holding a magazine upside down, covering her face. She slowly lowered the magazine to the table and stared back at the two, her dirty blond hair curly and her grey-blue eyes glassy.

"Hullo," she spoke in an airy tone, smiling softly to the two. Dick watched as Damian continued to stare at the girl, an unreadable expression on his face.

"You haven't happened to see any Nargels running around, have you? They seemed to have stolen my class papers," the girl spoke as she titled her head to the side. Damian's face scrunched up.

"What the hell is a Nargel?" Damian snapped out, glaring at the girl. Dick swooped down and smacked the child up-side the head, making those watching blink.

"Damian, one, you don't swear. Two, you ask nicely. Three, don't be rude to a lady!" Dick chided and Damian glared.

"Tt," he muttered and the blond haired girl tilted her head to the side again.

"I'm sorry, Ms…." Dick trailed off, not knowing her name.

"Luna. Luna Lovegood," Luna introduced.

"Ms. Lovegood, but what is a Nargel?" Dick asked with a bright smile, his white teeth sparkling. Luna looked at him curiously, before nodding her head to herself.

"Oh, they cause trouble. They stole my papers," Luna explained and nodded to herself again. Damian raised an eyebrow.

"You sure you aren't just getting bullied?" Damian asked and yelped when Dick smacked him again.

"Grayson, stop it! Hit me again and I'll!" Damian fell silent when Dick raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest in a smug manner. Oh, that's right… Dick held Damian's 'Robin Rights' over his head at the moment. Damn.

"Sorry about him. Nargels, huh? What do they look like?" Dick asked with a smile. Having dealt with the Joker and Harley Quinn, Dick knew it was better to play along for the time being.

"Oh, they can't be seen by the human eye," Luna explained and went back to reading her upside down magazine. Damian stared at her for a few moments.

"The Joker would love her," he commented dryly and Dick tried to choke down a chuckle that was trying to escape.

"Shut it, Damian. You shouldn't speak so rudely," Dick scolded and Damian glared, crossing his arms.

"Mr. Grayson, dear, the teachers don't sit with the students," an annoyingly sweet female voice sounded and both boys turned to see Dolores standing there with a annoyingly sweet smile.

"Good morning Ms. Umbridge," Dick greeted politely and the woman merely smiled, though both boys could see it was strained.

"Good morning," she spoke back and waddled her way towards the teacher's table. Dick stood up and followed, walking to where he had sat last time. Damian watched him for a moment before shaking his head. He rested his head on the table, mindful of his class books, and waited for the rest of the students to come.

"Tt, I have Potions after breakfast. Joy. I wonder if I can blow anything up…" Damian trailed off and a little ways out the Grand Hall hallways, Snape sneezed.


	3. Punch me

**Reaper: N**ew chapter. Yay! This chapter's more focused on the students. I'm trying to not have it mainly focused on Damian and Dick (which is kinda hard since Dick's a teacher at the school) but whatever. Also, I've brought in a character or two that might seem **OOC**. If so, I'm sorry. If you see anything wrong with anything brought up in this chapter, PLEASE TELL ME.

**EDIT : DAMMIT TIM, WHY IS THE 'I' IN YOUR NAME RIGHT BESIDE THE 'O'. I KEEP THINKING OF VOLDIE. Thank you for pointing that out to me. **

**Like last chapter, I'd like to thank these following people for being so wonderful and reading this fanfiction~! - **

**Werepuppy Black **First of all, I LOVE YOUR NAME. I dunno why, I just do. Second, thanks for reading. I love going against the norm and having Damian in the Gryffindor is twice the fun! Besides, he'd only cause chaos in the Slytherin house, even though I was originally going to place him there.

**MyLittleBird **When I first noticed your username, I kinda freaked out. I've been stalking -er- following your updates (never got around the Alert it) on your YJ fanfic **Musical Mission**. So when I saw you reviewing my story, I was really happy. No, more like giddy. ANYWAYS. I'm glad your loving this story! Thank you!

**cuddlepie **I'm trying my hardest to take it somewhere grand~! -dramatically spreads arms across night sky like a total loony- Anyways, thank you for reviewing!

**Manialoll Spins **He'll cool down. If not -shakes fist at him-. Haha, I don't exactly know how Damian takes to others. I've seen a few comic pages (from Tumblr, lawl) about him scaring Batgirl saying he had hidden knives that Alfred didn't know about. Soooo...yeah, maybe he'll be nicer? IDK. Thank you for reviewing!

**Em Phantom**

**heyzz **IT'S HARD TO WRITE! Goodness, I had to sit back and think on how to write Dickie-baby teaching 'em to punch! Uhg, how will I get through this story? -falls to floor in defeat-. Oh well, I'll ask meh boyfriend - he takes martial arts. Kung Fu. Hi-ya!

**BloodlyCherryBlossom **Did you wait long? Heehee. Here's the next chapter.

**Yellowdog262 **Thank you, I feel so happy that you like this story. Heehee, I'm trying to keep Snape as in-character as possible and I mean, come on, wouldn't you just love to see him do that? I would. Heehee. 'I'm Severus Snape. Don't touch me.' Reminds me of the movie 'Mean Girls'...dunno why.

**Twin Tails Speed**

**SunShark **Thank you for pointing out Dick's jumpiness. I'll try to cut that out as much as I can. If you still see it, please tell me. Sorry again. At least I got Damian right. Haha.

**Anne Whitehead **Continuing!

**DaughterofDemeter123**

**Rikusprincess30**

**Dcatbob**

**TwilightsQuintessence**

**Blood of the Dawn**

**DISCLAIMER: I** own nothing but the plot. And maybe a OC here and there. But besides those two things, I OWN NOTHING.

**X.x.X.x.X**

"Dude, not cool," Tim whispered grumpily as he crossed his arms, looking down from the building he was perched on. Kon-El blinked as he sat beside the bird, watching his friend sulk.

"Just because nothing's happening doesn't mean it's not cool. Personally, I'm kind of glad we don't have any real trouble. Though Batman did say we had to warn him if Joker appears. Not that we couldn't handle him ourselves," Superboy mumbled and Red Robin shook his head.

"No, if Joker started something, we'd have to call Dick back. Though I don't really mind that demonic Satan-offspring not being around," Tim grumbled under his breath.

Superboy chuckled under his breath and Tim gave a smile though he wondered if the clone actually knew how serious Tim was when talking about Damian.

**X.x.X.x.X**

Hermione Granger was, by all means, one who prepared for the worst. Such as bringing an extra parchment to write notes in and keeping a spare quill with her just in case hers broke. Therefore, it wasn't unnatural for her to be fretting and dreading going to her Muggle Defense class.

She knew how to punch – her father had signed her up for self defense classes when she was younger, just to keep the growing boys at bay. She knew how to kick too. But she, after seeing Damian's display of speed and strength, knew that this class wasn't going to be easy. Even if it was taught by a Muggle teacher.

"Ah, Ms. Granger, good morning," Dick greeted the moment Hermione walked into the classroom, being the first one there. Hermione blinked, looking around the room. The desks and chairs had been pushed against the wall and stacked, the floor covered by various sizes of padding mats. It reminded her of her old primary school, when they'd set up mats in the gym to do rolls and such.

"Good morning Professor Grayson," Hermione greeted back, setting her books down on a desk. She noticed Professor Grayson lifting a few mats to place them on spots that showed stone and moved to help him. Flashing her wand out, Dick could only blink as Hermione effortlessly used her magic to levitate the mats to the ground. Dick beamed.

"Hey, that's pretty sweet. I can't wait for Dami to learn that spell. Maybe it'll teach him to pick up after himself," Dick said aloud, chuckling to himself. Hermione smiled slightly.

"So…you're a Muggle, right? From America, correct?" Hermione carefully asked. Dick hummed as he set a box on his desk, padded gloves poking out at the top.

"My mother went to America once, for some job meeting," Hermione started as she walked over to Dick, picking up one of the five boxes (not counting the one on his desk) and placing it beside the other box. This box had headbands and wrists bands in it.

"Oh, really?" Dick asked with a smile, greeting two Gryffindor students who scurried in. The students, females, blushed and giggled.

"Yes," Hermione nodded, "she said America was amazing. She said they didn't have wizards or witches, but something more….supernatural." Dick had stopped setting the boxes on the desk, turning to look fully at Hermione. Students who had begun to trickle in froze as they noticed the serious air around the two.

"Supernatural?" Dick asked, his voice bold but, and this was just Hermione's opinion, guarded.

"Yes. She said that they had people who protected the cities when the police couldn't. Like-like a comic book, she said that Americans had _superheroes_ protecting them," Hermione blurted with a blush, her fingers fiddling with the edges of the boxes.

Dick stared at her seriously, his eyes non-blinking. "Did you think she was kidding?" He asked softly and Hermione blinked, looking up from the desk. "No," Hermione said sharply. "It'd be arrogant to believe in witches and wizards yet not superheroes. Actually, I've heard of a few she mentioned. Superman, Flash….Batman," Hermione watched as Dick's eyes dimmed slightly at the name and inwardly wondered why.

"Superman!" A muggle-born student piped up as Dick noticed most of the students were staring at him, "Superman's brilliant!" A few more muggle-born males nodded their heads, smiling and voicing their agreements.

"Oh, so their popularity's gotten across the ocean, has it?" Dick joked and the students, or those who knew of the superheroes, laughed. Those, such as the Purebloods, looked lost and confused.

"'Mione, what are you talking about?" Ron asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Dick's eyes lit up as if a light-bulb had flashed over his head and he clapped his hands together.

"Oh, I know! I'll share you a story about Superheroes! Get you guys motivated, y'know? I mean, they are actually pretty similar to witches and wizards!" Dick beamed and watched as the Slytherin students gained looks of disgust. Dick motioned for them to set their things down and sit on the mats, hopping up to sit on the surface of his desk.

"So, in America, we have very bad people that try to rule the world. Kinda like that Dark Lord of yours," Dick stated and his smile faltered when he saw a few, notably Harry Potter, flinch. "Well, the bad people can fair against the normal, plain-Jane police forces that protect the people in cities. Uh, you guys have magic cops, don't you?" Dick asked and Hermione shot her hand up, looking like a child who had to use the restroom.

"In the Wizarding World, Aurors are the equivalent to policemen," Hermione stated. Dick nodded.

"Well, say the Aurors couldn't defeat any Dark Lord, then what?" Dick asked and the students looked pale and horror-stricken at the thought. Dick instantly began speaking, not wanting to scare them. "Well, then you call in the Superheroes. Superheroes are just that – heroes that are super. Haha, like, they have powers. Um, not all have powers…some are as normal as the policemen, but are more…enhanced to fight…I guess. Uh, let me start over," Dick scratched his head, seeing he had confused his students.

"Um, raise your hand if you know someone that can talk to fish, read minds, fly, use laser vision, travel at the speed of light, pick up a few hundred pounds with one hand, and can stop a meteor with your bare hands?" Dick asked and the students stared at him like he was off his rocket, their eyes wide and their jaws slack.

"Really? No one? Seriously? Well, in America, the Superheroes do that and _more_," Dick spoke with a smirk as he saw the faces slip to ones of awe and 'no-way-stop-BSing'.

"Superman," Dick started, "can fly, has super strength, heat vision, X-ray vision, superbreath, superhearing, supervision, eidetic memory, among others," Dick listed off and the jaws dropped. Even the Slytherin students looked impressed and awed.

"The Flash can move, think, and react at superhuman speeds, as well as vibrate through walls," Dick explained and the jaws dropped further. He coughed and they snapped their mouths shut with an echo of teeth clamping together.

"Hm…that's some notable Superheroes who _have _superpowers. There are also heroes who _don't _have powers," Dick hummed and swayed his legs back and forth.

"Take Batman, for example. He doesn't have any super powers but he can kick ass," Dick all but beamed, sounding like a fanboy. The girls giggled. "He knows martial arts, and is no doubt a black-belt in every fighting style known to man-muggle-whatever. He also uses his suit, the Batsuit, to fight. It's been scientifically modified to help him with his fighting. Like for protection and stuff," Dick purred out with a cheesy smile on his face.

"Now let's go back to the Superheroes. They sound and seem all-powerful, don't they?" Dick asked and the class nodded. "Well, they aren't. They are as human as you guys are, meaning one thing," Dick paused and the class held their breaths, "they have weaknesses. I won't say what they are, but let me ask you, what is the weakness of wizards and witches?" Dick asked and the class felt silent, deep in thought.

"Uh-um," Neville raised his hand shyly, "our-our wands….?" The Slytherins shot him glares, as if insulted by his answer. Dick, on the other hand, beamed.

"Brilliant answer, Mr. Longbottom! Yes, the answer is your wands," Dick stated and the students looked offended.

"Look, it's true. I mean, you guys probably have a spell to disarm your opponent, right? Then what? What happens then?" No one answered. "You die." The class flinched. "It's a fact. You magic users rely too heavily on your wands and you guys need to see that doing so will give you a lot of weaknesses and openings. And, if I'm not mistaken, isn't this the time to have no weaknesses or openings?" The class flinched again and nodded slowly. Dick beamed.

"Well then, I want all of you to form a line and come get a sweatband and two wrists bands. They add to the 'muggle training' not to mention it's so fun to wear them! Like being in the 80s again!" Dick giggled and the students stared at him with blank faces.

"Not that I'm from the 80s," Dick covered up, "I'm only 25!" His cheeks heated up at his mistake and looked in horror as some of the girls' batted eye-lashes at him. Oh goodness no.

After all the students, even the Slytherins who grudgingly obeyed, had gotten their sweat bands he jumped off the desk and passed out two padded gloves to each student. The students looked at the gloves in confusion.

"Today we're going to practice punching. Don't worry, these padded gloves don't hurt anyone. Uh…Longbottom!" Dick chirped and said boy jumped. "Punch me in the face," Dick stated and the students froze, slowly moving their heads to him with wide eyes that clearly showed their thoughts – was he mental?

Neville went pale and looked from his gloves to the teacher. What was he asking?

"Ex-excuse me….sir?" Neville stuttered out in surprise, wondering if he had misheard. Dick smiled.

"Punch me in the face. Go on then, punch me. With all you got," Dick ordered and stepped forward to give Neville a closer hit on him. Unknowing to the students (yet not Dick), someone had slipped into the classroom.

Neville took a nervous step forward and squeezed his eyes shut as he let his gloved fist flash out, smacking against Dick's jaw. The students gasped as Dick's head snapped to the side and the adult blinked, rubbing his jaw with a cheesy smile.

"Good," he said, "you have some decent control and strength. Now if you just keep your eyes opened and your wrist steady, it'd be a killer punch." Neville blushed at his words and shuffled back to his spot. Dick smiled.

"See? No harm, no pain," he said and with a nod to himself, moved back to the boxes.

"I have a list and will pair you up accordingly. If you have any problems or concerns, please inform me the moment you have been paired up," he stated and smiled. He did that a lot, most of the students noticed, smiling as he was.

"Granger, Malfoy," he spoke and his eyes lifted from his paper to the two. Hermione looked perfectly smug while Draco looked pale, as if recalling a painful memory. Dick snickered, remembering the story he had heard from Dumbledore that morning about how during third-year, Hermione had slugged Draco in the face.

"Excuse me," Draco sneered out, "but I refuse to work with…_her_." Draco gave a look of distain at the female, who gave him a daring look. Dick hummed.

"Sorry Mr. Malfoy, but this is the one group I can't rearrange," he spoke and smiled sweetly before moving on, ignoring the gaping look from the blond boy – it looked out of place on his usual sneering face.

"Potter, Zabini," Dick stated and saw both boys snap their head to each other in confusion and, in Blaise case, open disgust. Dick rolled his eyes and moved down the list. Ron was partnered up with Neville, much to the enjoyment of the Slytherins. The rest of the students got paired up and waited for further instructions.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, sir," Dick started, startling the students, "would you like to have a seat at the front of the class instead of lurking in the back of the room?" Dick eyes were half-lidded in a smug-knowing way, a smirk playing on his lips as the elderly man chuckled brightly.

"Why, my dear boy, I'm surprised you noticed me!" The man laughed, his eyes twinkling. Dick smiled, though he was slightly confused on how he _couldn't _notice the man. He didn't hide his presence very well. Then again, Dick was trained to hear even the faintest of breathing.

"It wasn't very hard, sir," he spoke and pulled a chair out for the man, "I've dealt with stealthy people." His smile showed he'd done more than deal with _stealthy _people, but Albus ignored it. He was intrigued as to how the man was going to teach his students, so without telling Minerva, had slipped away to visit the classroom. Still, he was surprised the Muggle teacher had noticed him, even though he had been sure that the man wouldn't have noticed him. He really shouldn't underestimate him.

Albus sat down and leaned back, looking over the students. He smiled at Harry, who gave a small smile back.

"Okay, I'm going to be handing out one padded guard per group. Since there are two of you, one will hold the guard and have your partner give twenty punches to the guard before switching off. We'll go that for the rest of class, alright? Now, a few things," Dick spoke and everyone looked at him, "when you punch, keep your wrists straight. If you have it bent even the slightest, it can not only render you useless, but harm you. Also, take your hand and hold out in front of you. Keep your fingers straight and pressed together. Now, look at me as I close my hand into a proper fist," Dick spoke and held his hand up. His hand fell slowly into a fist, repeating how he folded the joints like paper – it took three steps to close his fist.

"Now, make sure your thumb is resting outside your fists, not inside. You could break your fingers if not correctly setting yours fingers correctly," Dick explained and watched with smiles as the students murmured to themselves, setting their hands into fists.

"Good. Now, remember that when you punch, punch with the index and middle finger knuckles. A reminder is to look at your knuckles and see how those two knuckles stick out among your ring finger knuckle and your pinky finger knuckle," Dick explained and showed the students the knuckle he was talking about. Hermione looked confused.

"Professor Grayson, sir, we'll be wearing padded gloved. Our knuckles won't hit the guard," she stated and Dick blinked.

"Oh yeah," he laughed, "pass up your gloves." The students blinked at him while some groaned. The students did so and a little bit after Dick smiled.

"Okay, so now I'll show you how to correctly punch. Mr. Potter, please come here," Dick smiled and watched as Harry scurried in front of him. Dick handed him a guard and positioned him an arm's distance away from him.

"Hold firm and try not to back up too much," Dick stated and Harry nodded, holding onto the guard tightly as Dick got into a punching position. The students watched in awe as Dick landed a punch on the guard, a loud 'thump' echoing around the room and Harry stumbling back with a surprised expression.

"Sorry," Dick laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder. "You guy will be doing what I just did today. Twenty times each before switching off. Do this until I tell you to stop," Dick instructed and passed out the guards, smiling widely as he saw the excited looks on the muggle-born students' faces.

He walked to sit on his desk, watching as the students started.

"An interesting start, wouldn't you say Mr. Grayson," Albus commented and Dick glanced at him.

"Yes sir," Dick spoke casually, "but it's better for them to learn the basics first. Punching, kicking, elbowing, the basics first before the serious stuff. Even if they practiced every day for the rest of the year, they won't get even _near _Damian's level, nor mine. But they'll be at a level where they can protect themselves and kick some serious….uh….butt," Dick trailed off, not knowing if it'd be appropriate to say 'ass' in front of the Headmaster. Albus nodded.

"Indeed. That's good. I'm glad that the younger generation can now learn to protect themselves without wands. I always feared wands were a wizard's or witch's weakness. It's true, sadly. But now, thanks to you, maybe the younger generation stand a chance," he mused softly to himself, his twinkling eyes shining sadly as he looked at the fifth year students work. Dick smiled.

"You'd be surprised at what children can do, Headmaster," Dick hummed as he saw Draco blush at a comment from Hermione. He smiled.

"See, Mr. Malfoy is getting along with Ms. Granger. She's currently commenting on his punches," Dick pointed out and beamed. His smile faltered slightly and he sighed.

"Mr. Longbottom, I said _not _tobend your wrist," he stated and slid off the desk, moving to help the group. Albus smiled to himself and left the room, nodding his head to Dick as he closed the door.

**X.x.X.x.X**

"Bloody hell, my knuckles hurt!" Ron whined as he plopped down at their table for lunch, rubbing his sore hands. Harry and Neville nodded, while Hermione smiled smugly at them.

"What's with you, 'Mione? Mr. Grayson kept complimenting you during class. Saying you had good control and posture and what not," Ron grumbled out as he shot a jealous look at the girl. She smiled at him in a taunting way.

"My father enrolled me in self-defense classes when I was younger. How do you think I was able to punch Malfoy so well during third year?" Hermione asked and giggled at the look of shock on Ron's face. Harry chuckled and Neville smiled. Hermione moved her eyes to Damian, who sat down a little ways away from their group.

"Damian," Hermione spoke up and said boy turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She smiled slightly at him, seeing he had an irritated air around him.

"We just came from Professor Grayson's class," Hermione explained and Damian seemed to perk at her words. "Oh, yeah? Did he do a decent job?" Damian asked as he subconsciously scooted closer. Hermione mentally smirked to herself. Just a little bit more. Harry and Ron shared looks of confusion as she continued to talk to the boy.

"Oh yes, Professor Grayson did a brilliant job. He taught us how to correctly punch. Spent the whole period hitting guards," Hermione said and Damian nodded.

"Those are regularly used. Did he have you use the padded gloves or did he just skip those?" Damian asked as he scooted closer once again. Harry and Ron suddenly realized what the girl was doing.

"Yes," she said and showed the boy her red hands. He nodded. "Grayson does that – shows you the _real _way to do something than the _baby _way. You have to learn what it feels like to have your knuckles hit solid objects. Padded gloves prevent you from doing that," Damian explained and blinked as he realized he was suddenly beside the girl. He scooted a few inches away from her before stopping. Hermione smiled.

"How was Potions? You had it first period, correct?" Hermione asked and Neville looked at him in interest, wanting to see if his least favorite teacher had caused the first year to fear him.

"Boring. We had to listen to the greasy-head drone on about 'bottling frame' and what not. No one blew anything up, so it was a let-down," the boy stated with a mumble, poking at his food.

"'Mione, what was with you bringing up those…super…superheroes during class?" Ron asked, suddenly remembering he had wanted to ask the girl that question. Damian stared directly at him.

"What did Grayson say about superheroes?" He asked in a guarded, tight voice.

"He just told us how in America, superheroes protected the citizens," Hermione explained, sensing that this wasn't a topic for discussion.

"Yeah, he was talking about these blokes who had powers that even a spell couldn't create! But he said that there were some without powers, like that Bat….Batman fellow!" Ron piped in, Harry nodding. Damian's eyes narrowed.

"Batman?" Damian asked.

"Yeah. If you asked me, the fellow should leave it up to the blokes who have powers to protect-!" Ron didn't finished as Damian grabbed the front of his robes and yanked him to his feet, his face inches from Damian's growling face.

There were two things you never did; bad-talk Batman, and anger Damian. Ron, sadly, did both.

"Is there a problem?" Damian let go of Ron and turned to see Dick standing behind the group, smiling. Damian 'tt'ed under his breath and sat back down, looking down.

"No sir," Hermione blurted out, "Ron just said the wrong thing." Dick moved his eyes to Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, care to share with me what you said? You know, it takes a lot to have Damian attack someone," Dick spoke and ruffled the boy's hair, smiling brightly when the boy smacked his hand away. Ron stuttered, his cheeks aflame.

"He was bad-talking Batman…" Damian muttered and Dick looked to him. "I'm not going to just sit here and let him do that." Dick nodded his head in understanding and smiled.

"Well, in the future, watch what you say about the American heroes. Damian and I've grown up with them," Dick reminded and moved to the teacher's table.

"So, Damian, what class did you have after Potions?" Hermione asked, the air lifting as Damian snapped his attention to her.

**X.x.X.x.X**

"The League of Shadows?" A voice hissed in the dark, the hiss similar to that of a snake's. A stuttering voice sounded.

"Y-yes, My Lord. They-they are commonly known as the League of Assassins, but have taken the name of Shadows as a more fearing name." More hissing sounded.

"Their leader…do you know who it is? Why have they been searching for me?" The hissing voice asked.

"Yes-yes, My Lord. We've yet to know the reason for the leader's search for you. The leader's name is Ra's. Ra's al Ghul."


	4. There was a cat

**Reaper: I have updated this chapter. That is all. I am currently working on the 5th chapter (kept thinking it was the 6th for some odd reason). **

His shoes clicked against the stone flooring as he walked down the corridor, students stopping and gaping at the raven haired man who blew past. No, it was not Snape skipping down the hallways. It was Professor Richard 'Dick' Grayson, Master of Muggle Defense Hogwarts, smirking. Smirking!

In the two days that the man had been there, all he wore on his face was a smile. So, for the students to see him _smirking_ was, well, shocking. Flabbergasting, really. Though, if you asked the Slytherins, they'd uncomfortable admit that he looked more authentic with the smirk on his face as opposed to the fake smile. And those were the _Slytherins_ talking.

Dick Grayson was used to being a public playboy, having to follow the reputation of being a spoiled orphan who doesn't play by any rules. It was more of an observation lesson, as Bruce used to put it. Slip into a personality that won't be closely looked at and observe your environment. He didn't want to be like that Potions Master, all doom and gloom, but he didn't want to be regular. Weren't people supposed to be all giddy and spastic when it came to magic? From what Dick had learned from Bruce, who had dealt with Zatanna, everyone reacted differently when dealing with magic. Look at Wally West, the current Flash and Dick's childhood friend. He's been trying to deny the existence of magic since he's stepped foot in a laboratory. He was a man of science, which was rather odd since many people viewed superheroes to be people with magic powers.

Therefore, as Dick walked down the hallway with that comfortable smirk adorning his lips, he could only mentally chuckle at the expressions on the students' faces. A little Hufflepuff child was leaning against the stone wall looking pale. A Ravenclaw girl had almost dropped her book three times in a _row_, unable to keep her wide eyes off Dick. A Gryffindor, living up to their name, merely stood frozen and had their mouth hanging open. A few Slytherin students just shifted their footing, trying to not look the Professor in the eye.

Was his play-boy act really _that_ bad?

**X.x.X.x.X**

Breakfast was, according to an innocent Hufflepuff bystander, interesting. The Hufflepuff table and Ravenclaw tables had been ignored since the beginning of school. Slytherin House seemed to be the target to a certain first year's wrath as they continued, with knowledge of the consequences, to belittle the new Muggle teacher. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs didn't understand what was so bad about the man – he was teaching them to protect themselves for Merlin's sake! Though, if you were to ask a Ravenclaw, they'd honestly say they were slightly put-off by Professor Grayson's chipper mood. He acted like a child hyped up on Chocolate Frogs.

The Hufflepuff table and Gryffindor table quietly observed the latter's newest first year, who was stabbing into his sausages and toast with violent jabs of his fork. Harry Potter was sitting next to him, fidgeting and poking at his food with tense shoulders and bouncing knees while Hermione chatted to the boy about a few martial arts moves, apparently finding something in common with the moody boy. Ron was stuffing his face as usual, ignoring the scary child.

The Ravenclaws turned their attention to Dick Grayson, who was eating silently. His face was blank, no smile in place, something that made the Ravenclaws burst into hushed theories of what changed about the man. In the past two days of seeing the professor, he had done nothing but smile like a famous idol. Even Snape was eyeing him curiously, his thought-process in line with the Ravenclaws.

Between the two newest additions to their school, Hogwarts was relatively normal. Aside from a certain pink frog, that was.

Dolores Umbridge, was without a doubt, a gruesome person to lay eyes on. With it only being two days into the school term, she was already the least favorite person. With her annoying 'hem-hem's and habit of cutting into people with her sickeningly sweet voice, it was clear that she was not a fan-favorite at Hogwarts.

Rumors of non-spell casting Defense classes spread and the students were not happy. General consensus was that the Ministry had no right to meddle in the affairs of Hogwarts, especially without Dumbledore's consent.

But, seeing as the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table were ignored by all the drama and chaos currently swirling around Hogwarts, it gave them the position to sit back and watch as things unfolded.

Well, almost all of Ravenclaw, that is. A certain social outcast had a few things set for her by fate.

**X.x.X.x.X**

Damian stabbed at his sausage, his eyes wandering over to Grayson. He gave a hushed growl in annoyance. Of all the times to have Grayson down in the dumps, why now? Damian was annoyed – no, not annoyed – _pissed_. After breakfast he'd be heading to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He wasn't look forward to being taught by an oversized toad. When he saw her smiling he could only think of Harley Quinn, Joker's love-sick, mentally-unbalanced girlfriend. Like Harley Quinn, Umbridge was cruel, uncaring, and followed a more powerful man. It made him sick. Damian idly wondered if Grayson thought the same thing.

Besides that, Damian had also heard rumors of Umbridge not having the best of tempers. Apparently she didn't like children, which then brought in the question of why the hell she was at a school _full_ of them. Damian didn't stay on that thought, instead shifting his attention to Hermione.

"Oh, no," he corrected her as he picked up the last thing she said, "looking at the body isn't as useful as looking at the eyes. The eyes give away their attacks, not their body." Harry and Ron blinked, tucking the thoughts away for later. That'd be a good thing to remember when fighting with a Slytherin or the like. Hermione smiled and nodded.

"What about if you want to send your opponent to the ground without actually striking them in the face?" Hermione asked with a tilt of her head, leaning in curiously at Damian. Damian straightened at the attention, never having been one who'd be asked advice on fighting. He barely got along with anyone his own age, save Colin. Speaking of the boy, Damian vaguely wondered how his friend was.

"Easy," Damian stated as he bit into one of his sausages, seeing as knifing them to mush would do his stomach no good, "you get close. Get into their personal space and throw them off guard, maybe by striking their chest for good measure. What I do is hook my heel around the back of their knees, hitting it to allow their legs to give way before kneeing them in the face, or sending an elbow to their throat. But, you have to be fast and aware of your surroundings," Damian stated as he chewed, his gaze never wavering from Hermione's as she nodded to herself.

"On another note," Rob piped in, having had enough of being ignored, "what's with Professor Grayson? I swear that earlier he acted like he'd take one of those fancy luck potions." Damian snorted and let his eyes flash to the teacher, who was now idly listening to Snape and McGonagall talk.

"He was messing with you guys," Damian stood and stretched his arms over his head, "he's observing you all and your reactions. Kinda like being locked in a room without knowing a camera's on you," he compared thoughtfully.

"Observing?" Harry asked in a hushed voice, his startling green eyes wandering to the subject of their conversation.

"Yeah," Damian nodded, "he's observing. He took in that you have either strict teachers, gloom-and-doom teachers, crazy teachers, or the norm. Grayson decided he wanted to see what would happen if he threw off the balance. Having an over-peppy teacher would clearly unsettle a few students," Damian placed his chin in the palm of his hand. "Taking in the reactions, he's come to realize that he'd better cut back on the play-boy smile. Grayson's done that a lot, smiling for the crowd. Fake, real, sarcastic, he's mastered them all, the bloody man," Damian muttered under his breath and glared at his plate.

"So, the whole 'sunshine-I'm-blinding-you' smiles were…fake?" Ron questioned with furrowing eyebrows. He didn't like the sound of a teacher tricking a teacher.

"Yes. He wasn't tricking you," he snapped in as he noticed the Golden Trio's faces, "he was testing you. One of the things we've been raised to do – take in your surroundings and blend in with them as long as necessary. Or, in Grayson's case, stand out as much as possible and look like a naïve idiot," he sneered and stood up, his plate clearing magically. Alfred really needed a book on these spells.

Hermione blinked, standing up as well. She followed the younger boy as he made his way to the Great Hall, pausing when he turned around to face her.

"I know you probably want answers and have questions," he spoke dryly with a raised eyebrow, "but I don't think following me to the bathroom will help anyone." He left the red faced girl where she stood, leaving the Great Hall.

**X.x.X.x.X**

_One more 'hem-hem' and I'll bash her face in, _Damian thought darkly to himself, his knees bouncing up and down as Professor (if she was even to be called that) Umbridge continued to speak about the Ministry and how their only desire was to ensure the safety of the young magical generation.

Damian called B.S.

He was sitting beside some random first year Gryffindor, not really caring to remember his name. No, wait, he had been paying attention. The boy next to him was named Ethan. Ethan May. A muggle-born, just like Damian.

"Mr. Wayne, Mr. May, since you two seem to be such marvelous listeners, why don't you two stand up and repeat what I just explained," Umbridge spoke as she folded her hands in front of her, wearing that sickeningly sweet smile that could make even the Joker feel unnerved.

May stood up, stuttering and looking positively scared of the large woman, his face pale and his fists clenching and unclenching. Umbridge waited, her face stuck in that smile. Damian sigh, blinking at his seat mate in boredom. Really, the Wizarding World needed more than self-defense. They needed a full-on Batman boot camp.

Umbridge's eyes narrowed and she smiled. "Mr. May, detention," she stated with a ring of sadistic torture in her tone. May turned pale and plopped down in his seat, shaking his head. Damian let his eyes hardened as Umbridge turned her attention to him, a gleam of _something _in her eyes.

"Mr. Wayne, why don't you help out Mr. May and tell me what I had been lecturing to the class," Umbridge stated and the room tensed as Damian reluctantly stood up. He gave a yawn, covering his mouth with a hand. Umbridge's eyebrow twitched and the corner of her lips faltered.

He opened his mouth just as a high pitched beeping sounded. Damian blinked and stuffed a hand in one of his secret pockets, digging around for the source of the beeping.

Damian pulled out his communicator and looked at the toad-woman, wondering if he should answer it just to see her get all riled up.

Now, you must be asking how a muggle made item was working in Hogwarts, with the wards and all. Well, if you must know, it began with a certain magician. A witch, in fact.

"_Please, please, pleeeease?" Dick had his clasped hands in front of his face, begging on his knees as the black-clad woman stared at him with her hip cocked out like a mother who'd caught her son sneaking licorice wands before dinner._

"_You want me to….cast a spell on all your little _toys_ so they can work at Hogwarts?" Zatanna asked as she peered down at Dick with a raised eyebrow. Damian was in the background, shaking his head at the adult's embarrassing actions._

"_Yes!" Dick chirped as he shot to his feet, looking hopeful at the woman. _

"_Why should I?" Zatanna asked. It wasn't everyday that Bruce's first adopted child and his real biological child should ask her for a favor. Hell, they never asked for favors!_

"_Because you're our dad's childhood friend! And come on, it's just a few little things like our communicators and stuff!" Dick pleaded and Zatanna gave him a calculating look, pondering this. He kind of got her on the 'childhood friend' part. She _was _Bruce's childhood friend, meaning that since Bruce cared so much about Batman, she'd do anything to help. Damn feelings of her's…._

"_Fine," she grumbled out reluctantly and Damian watched as Dick all but dumped all their electronic items into her arms. _

Umbridge glared at the communicator in his hand, her face going purple.

"What is that?" She snapped and Damian casted a look to the door.

"Oh, sorry," he spoke as he all but flew to the door, "phone call!" Ignoring Umbridge's loud demands for him to return to his seat, Damian rushed down the hall. Stopping at a secluded section of the corridor, Damian leaned against a wall.

"You need something?" Damian asked, though he was slightly grateful that he had an excuse to leave that horrid class. And Hermione had said it was interesting.

"_Jeez, no need to bite me through the communicator," _Barbara snapped from the other end, sounding like she wanted to cross her arms. Damian 'tt'ed and leaned against the wall, narrowing his eyes.

"_I heard you and Dick went somewhere…somewhere for a whole year. Mind telling me why he has his communicator off and where you guys are? Tim won't speak," _Barbara stated and gave a sigh. Damian smirked.

"Grayson's probably teaching class right now and-"

"_Class! Teaching! He's teaching? He's a teacher? What! Where are you?" _Barbara cried out, startled by the new information. Damian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We're at Hogwarts, a school in Scotland," Damian growled out, suddenly not feeling so lucky to be out of class.

"_Scotland!" _Barbara gasped. _"Why Scotland? What's going on?" _Damian frowned. The former Batgirl really should stop asking so many questions. Curiosity killed the cat, and he wasn't in a very forgiving mood.

"None of your business now if you don't mind I'm going back to cla-oh, a cat," Damian lowered his communicator, ignoring the faint yells from the female on the other end, and stared at the cat who was staring back at him. If his memory served him right, he'd seen that cat around that ill-tempered looking man. Hermione had called the cat 'Mrs. Norris'.

Damian clicked his communicator off and stuffed it back into his pocket, looking around to see if anyone was around. The halls were empty. He bent down and held his hand out, licking his lips as the feline tilted her head. A soft purring rumbled from the feline's throat and the cat took a step closer, sniffing the boy's hand.

Damian patiently waited for the cat to butt her head against his hand, asking to be pat. Damian fell on his behind and crossed his legs, blinking when the cat sat down in front of him, staring at him.

"Mrs. Norris, wasn't it?" Damian asked and rubbed his thumb on the bridge of Mrs. Norris' nose. The cat purred. He gave a rare, secret smile at her.

Of course, that all ended when two sets of footsteps were heard.

"Well, well, what," one male voice asked.

"Do we have here?" Another voice asked, completing the sentence. Damian looked up to see two ginger twins standing to the left of him, staring at him and Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris hissed and fled, running down the hall while Damian bit his lip, silently wishing she hadn't left.

"What do you want?" Damian snapped at them, mentally going through the names and faces of those in his House. George and Fred Weasley. He nodded to himself and blinked as he realized they had crouched down in front of him.

"You're that new year," the one to the right began.

"Who'd jumped across the Hall to the Slytherin table during the Feast," the on to the left continued.

"Aren't you?" The right one finished.

"Tt," Damien answered with narrowed eyes, his word forced and uncertain. He hated people who were nosy and asked questions. That and those who talked about you when standing in front of you.

"'TT'? What," the right one started.

"Kind of answer," the left one hummed out.

"Is that?" Both boys asked and Damian felt his teeth grit in annoyance. Twins were not on his list of favorite people. Not at all.

"I don't think we've introduced ourselves, Gred," the right one gasped in mock-horror.

"You're clearly right Feorge! We should introduce ourselves," the left one smirked.

"He's Fred," the right one spoke, "and I'm George." Damian stared at the two, pointing to the left one.

"You're George and he's Fred. If you think switching names is going to help you, it isn't. Now, if you don't get out of my face, I'm going to break your nose," Damian deadpanned, staring at them, not amused. The two twins' smirks fell and they backed up, their faces mirrors looks of confusion.

"How'd you figure it out?" George asked, linking arms with Fred.

"Simple. I've been in similar situations where I've dealt with twins," Damian spoke, remembering the endless tests his mother would put him through involving twins.

"Hear that Fred," George began, "he said he was going to break our noses." Fred chuckled, clearly showing he found Damian unintimidating.

"I did George. Funny how he's a Gryffindor with his Slytherin like attitude," Fred hummed and the two shared mirror looks of smirks.

Before Damian could blink two arms were around his shoulders and were leading him down the corridor. He tensed, ready to attack, when he saw Grayson from the openings in the corridor walls.

"Oh," Fred spoke, "it's that Muggle Teacher. Father nearly had a heart attack-"

"-when he heard a Muggle was teaching at Hogwarts. Dad's head over heels for Muggles and all Muggle things in general," George finished off, Damian raising as eyebrow as he was steered towards the Fourth year class.

**X.x.X.x.X**

Dick's lips pressed into a firm line as he saw two red heads all but dragging his young charge towards them. He heard a groan from behind him and turned, his eyes seeing his ginger haired student groan and face palm.

"Ms. Weasley, do you know them?" Dick asked, though he already knew the question. Similar hair and faces concluded they were related. Ginny nodded and bellowed their names, her face almost as red as her hair. The twins' heads fell and they grudgingly dragged themselves to where Dick was. They let go of Damian, who instantly shot to stand beside Dick in almost a comforting way.

"Why are you out of class?" Dick asked, his eyes half lidded as he crossed his eyes over his chest. Damian looked to the ground, kicking some grass and dirt as he did so.

"That….harlot called during class. You didn't have your communicator on so…" Damian trailed off as he watched Dick's face light up at the mention of his on-off girlfriend.

"Babs called?" He exclaimed as he dug around in his pockets, pulling out his communicator. The class watched, wondering if the teacher was allowed to just ignore his class in term of attending to his personal (but not important) dealings.

He placed the communicator to his ear and hummed, smiling as he heard Barbra answer.

"Babs? Hi! I-!" Dick comically pulled the device away from his ear, Barbra's loud yelling sounding from the small gadget. Damian smirked as Dick quickly tried to shush the woman, his face red with embarrassment.

"Uh sorry, Babs. I was going to call you, I swear! Well, I have a class to teach. Bye!" Dick quickly turned his electronic off and gave a sigh of relief, glaring at Damian.

"You knew she was going to yell at me, didn't you?" He asked and Damian smirked darkly.

"You deserved it, Grayson. She got me 'into trouble' with that toad," Damian sneered out, his eyes narrowing at the thought of serving a detention with the woman. Dick frowned.

"Well, that doesn't give you the excuse to skip class. But, since you're here, by don't you help me show the students what a round house kick looks like," Dick spoke and got into a stance, staring at Damian expectantly.

Damian got into a stance, grumbling the whole time as he did so, before twisting his body. He stretched his body, leaning to the right, left, and straight back to warm himself up. The class 'oh'ed and 'aw'ed at his display of flexibility, wondering if they'd become that flexible.

Without warning Damian spun, flashing his leg out to hit a good few inches from Dick's face. Dick already had a hand out, his clenched fist inches from Damian's dace as one of his legs hooked around the younger boy's. Nobody moved, or breathed, for that matter.

"When having close hand-to-hand combat, it is essential that you look your opponent in the eyes. Looking your opponent in the eyes allows you to get an idea of where he's going to strike first. Looking at his body will do you no good; you won't be focused on the fighter, but rather his body. Also, if you are in a situation where you are getting attacked in the face, it is important to react at the same time as I did," Dick spoke as he stared directly into Damian's eyes. "You can see that while Damian went for my face with a kick, I got a fist in close enough to do some damage if I wanted to. Also notice how my leg is hooked around his. With a sweep of my leg, Damian could be on the ground and open for a assault to his throat, if I wanted to attack him there," Dick explained as he untangled himself from Damian, the class muttering and nodding to themselves as they did so.

Damian snorted at the class and lashed out again, his foot aiming near Dick's lower thigh. Dick quickly blocked and grabbed Damian's foot, pulling his feet from under him. Damian gave a soft yelp before flipping, his hands smashing against the ground as he twisted his ankle out of the older male's grip, pushing himself off the ground and flipping into a crouch. Dick took a step back and clapped with light smirk on his face.

"And that children," he motioned to Damian, who stood from his defensive crouch, "is how you do a round house kick followed by various blocks and attacks." The fourth years gapped. They won't be able to do that in a year!

"If you paid attention, Damian tried to attack me in a place that'd render me useless. Attacking the legs or chest and head are good points if you want your opponent down. By blocking or avoiding the attack, you can grab the limb that was used and put your opponent in a defenseless position," Dick explained and the fourth years nodded.

Dick opened his mouth to say something before he saw the corridors start to fill out with students, signaling classes were finished. He gave a smile and clapped his hands again.

"Well, that's all for today. Remember what you learned and saw today. Bye," he spoke and waved his students off. He turned to look to Damian, who was looking at the ground with a pout.

"Go to your next class, Damian," Dick instructed and Damian left with a huff, going to Ms. Umbridge to retrieve his books.


	5. Flying

**Reaper: **Holy shit. 7 months. 7 fucking months. I AM SO SORRY. I DON'T - I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. WHAT. WHAT EVEN - I am soooooo sorry. I don't even know where to begin with my apologies. How the hell did I hold this off for seven months? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Oh my god. I am so sorry. I just - UUUUHG! I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE STILL READING THIS. I HOPE YOU HAVEN'T LOST HOPE. I want to GIVE A HUGE FUCKING AMAZING BOWING-DOWN-TO-YOU THANK YOU to **DeathwishJV, thexqueen, **and **MeganVL **for asking about the story. Actually, it was DeathwishJv who brought it to my attention that I hadn't updated in 7 months. I didn't think it was that long! -cries-

I AM ALIVE. I AM ALIVE AND I AM NEVER, EVER GOING TO ABANDON THIS STORY. EVER.

** Darth Sanctus**

**geek179 **Thank you for the review. I am glad you enjoyed the 'cat' scenes. : 3

**MyLittleBird **Hopefully this story is still your favorite story.

**xLittleMissReality **Holy-your comment was NOT half-assed. I loved that it was long. LOL. Your comment made me blush and smile like a giddy school girl in love. No joke. Don't be jealous of my writing - I don't like my writing. It's very flawed and there I make a lot of simple mistakes. But thank you for being jealous over something that you really have to need to be...over...? I love your review. Seriously, I did.

**Liz-El Grayson **I'm continuing it...slowly but surely, I am! I promise. Dick and Damian are my favorite too~! 3

**MeganVL **You, my dear reviewer, are one of the reasons I'm updating. XD You're review for each chapter kind of pushed me. So thank you. I don't think my story is that good (I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN ANYTHING I DO. NOTHING I DO IS AMAZING!)

**Lin Shadow **Thank you for loving this story and thank you for taking the time to review!

**() -**they didn't leave a username- You aren't being rude. Thank you for pointing out my mistakes. As stated above, I've only read the first three novels and seen the movies. I'm a amateur in the Harry Potter fandom, so pointing out where I'm clearly uneducated in the fandom is quite helpful. I have a beta now (WHO IS AMAZING AND HELPFUL~!) so hopefully you'll see a decease in mistakes.

**Xsteviex** Thank you for the review. I like scaring the kids with Damian as well. LOL. And, hm, a nightmare? What could cause Damian a nightmare? : 3 If you have any thoughts, please, shout them out. I have a little idea with a Boggart, but that's kind of a -maybe-.

**PiePerson **First off, I love your name. YUMMY PIE. Anyways, thank you for the review! : D

**ephemeral violet is too lazy** Not a new chapter, but at least it's something, right? -nervously hides behind Batman-

**JannaKalderash **I bet even Batman would allow for Umbridge to die. She's like, the perfect mate for the Joker or something. -shudders-

**BlackMarrionette **Wizard Damian is indeed cute~ 3 I wanna draw a picture~! 3

**darkryubaby **An update. Just not a new chapter. Thank you for the review~! 3

**cusimaw3som312 **LOL. It took me a moment to realize what your name meant. XD Thank you for the review~! 3

**pyromania101 **Dude, it's going to be fun messing with Umbridge! Heeheehee. -thinks evil things-. 3

**ajas136 **Thank you for your reviews~! 3

**CuriousDreamWeaver **I love you name. It's so poetic~ Thank you for finding my story interesting. It's fun to see how they interact (and I'm the one writing them).

**sweetfoxgirl13 **Damian is so cute~! 3

**DrakesChick** The interaction between Dick and Babs is amusing. It reminds me of siblings~ (I hate the pairing. No-just no).

**Yel****lowdog262** I want to play with the idea of Hermione being able to fight. I mean, if she could slug Draco in the mouth, why not learn to whop ass?

**SayianWizard**Thank you for reviewing~! 3

**ranlynn **Damian will have fun. Fun will be a word he'd grudgingly burn into his vocabulary.

**DYlogger **CAT? WHERE? LOL. 3

**neguam-tenshi **I believe that somewhere deep in Damian's non-existent heart, he thinks of Colin as a friend. lol! 3

**haruhaze **Don't hurt yourself! It isn't fun! LOL. Thank you for the review~! 3

**AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED. SORRY I COULDN'T LIST DOWN EVERYONE. ; ^ ; -goes to cry for being such a disgusting human- **

**Also, **if you notice any mistakes, please tell me. PLEASE. I want to make sure that this chapter is the best come back for you guys. I ONLY HOPE.

**WARNING(S): **AU (kinda...I mean, it IS a cross-over), OOC, fluff, OOC, awkward writing because I'm a dumb-fuck, OOC, horrible plot, OOC. Did I mention this story is completely Out-Of-Character?

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian crossed his arms, officially done with magic.

"I am **not **getting on a _broom stick_," Damian snapped, his tone final.

Madame Rolanda Hooch, the rather proud Flying Instructor, had come across many stubborn, spoiled children in her years of teaching. It was common for a muggle-raised child, especially those who grew up proud and ego-centric, to feel as if their pride was being jabbed at when they were told they'd fly on broomsticks. Call them old fashion, but it was an easy and accessible way to travel.

"Come now, Mister Wayne. Every student must learn to fly, even you," Madame Hooch chided, watching in amusement as the boy scowled. Damian scowled as he crossed his arms, glaring at the hayed stick as if his gaze could set it aflame.

His blue eyes narrowed as he watched the mindless first years call for their brooms to lift up. He snorted. They looked so stupid, speaking to unanimated objects like that. It would hurt his pride to climb upon a cleaning object. He held dignity for himself; he wasn't going to fly around like some cartoonish witch, cackling as she whizzed around on her broomstick.

See the boy wasn't going to agree to her instructions any time soon, Madame Hooch moved on to the students who were actually eager to learn to fly. Unlike some, these first first-years students were all but bouncing bodies of energy, giddy at the thought of flying.

"Alright class," Madame Hooch started as she shot Damian a narrowing gaze, "we'll be learning to fly today. I want to you stand at the side of your broom, which would should have laying on the ground already if you followed my earlier instructions, and I want to you put your hand in front of it," Madame Hooch moved her body, getting into a stance with her hand outstretched, hovering over the broom, "and say up."

The broom shot up from the grass and into her hand with a firm CLAP of wood meeting dragon skin leather. The first-years burst into gasps of awe and giddy whispers. Even the Slytherins looked impatient to call upon their brooms, though they hid their eagerness with simple smirks.

"You try," she demanded and stood back, to watch as the students began to call for their brooms.

Her eyes slide to Damian, who was staring dully at his broom. Madame Hooch mentally sighed. He was one of the stubborn ones, alright.

"Mr. Wayne, please try," Madame Hooch stressed, looking to the boy with annoyance. Damian snorted and crossed his arms, looking down at the wood and straw.

Madame Hooch mentally went over the tips the newest faculty member gave her when dealing with Damian.

"Mr. Wayne," Madame Hooch started with a strong voice, "if you do not listen to me, I will be forced to call for Professor Grayson. Do you want that?" Madame Hooch asked and saw the boy's face stiffen into a stony expression, his shoulders squaring out.

She got him.

"Fine," he all but spat, glaring at her as if his eyes could set her ablaze.

"Up," he growled out through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowed dangerously on the broom. Students paused to stare as his broom all but slammed into him open hand, the boy barely flinching. A sneer tugged on his lips, though, as he glared at the broom. Madame Hooch stared, her mind flashing to a past memory of seeing a spectacle-wearing boy having the same luck on his first try.

This boy standing before her was going to have a great destiny.

"Very good. Now, await further instructions until everyone has called their brooms," Madame Hooch stated, moving to help other students. Damian scoffed and dropped his broom, squinting his eyes in thought.

He was suddenly curious as to what that stupid Drake boy was doing.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"I swear, if you say 'Yum' one more time, I am going to punch you," Tim groaned, Kon-El chuckling beside him.

"Come on. You named yourself after a food franchise. You had to be expecting this," Kon-El shot back, smirking. Tim glared at him from behind his mask, dragging his feet as he made his way to the edge of the building.

"Shut up," he grumbled, mumbling under his breath about 'I'll show you yum' and what not.

They stood, or crouched rather, in a moment of silence, Tim looking down at the bustling night life of the city below him.

"I wonder how Dick and that demon child are doing. Think anyone's died yet?" Tim asked, his mask lighting up from the glowing lights from the streets. Kon-El shrugged, not really caring if the bird had seen the gesture or not.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Can anyone tell me how long the human body can last without food, water, or air?" Dick asked, standing in front of his class. The students stared at him, their eyes unblinking as he looked at them expectantly.

"No one? Really?" He sighed.

"The human body can survive without water for 3 days, without food for 3 weeks, and without air for 3 minutes," he explained, pointing to the board where it showed a rather cheesy drawing (unmoving, thank goodness) of a person eating, drinking, and breathing. The Slytherins in the back snickered, their eyes narrowed at the cruddy drawings. It was worse than Draco's old picture he drew of Potter getting hit by lightning. Though the cross-hatching on the picture was amazing, the picture itself was horribly done.

"TT," Damian gritted out, sending a glare over his shoulder to the childish first year Slytherins. They settled down, their snickers dying out. Damian huffed and turned his attention back to the front, Dick's voice droning out. He had heard the same thing before. Actually, he experienced it before. Not himself, oh no, but seen it happen. It was an educational experience for him that his mother thought would be appropriate for him to know.

Frankly, it wasn't too entertaining.

"Mr. Wayne, please stop daydreaming," Dick spoke out, looking up from his textbook. Damian's eyes slid to Dick, his blue eyes gleaming coldly. Dick held his gaze, taking in how Damian's blue hue seemed to be slightly darker than usual. He mentally filed the little image into his cabinet for later analysis.

"TT," Damian sneered, looking down to his text books. Somehow in between the three days they've been at Hogwarts, Dick had received class textbooks for all his students, since the students couldn't buy them their selves.

"Now, when dealing with self-defense, it is extremely important to know your body's limit. When weak or unstable, your body will give out signs. Shaking limbs, hot-cold flashes, dizzy spells, headaches – all of these are signs that you need to relax and fix yourself. Immediately," Dick explained, writing on the chalk board.

Damian zoned out once more, his eyes falling shut. He never realized it, but listening to something he's learned over and over again was pretty boring. His head began to bob up and down, Dick's voice fading into the background as darkness gently curled around him, soothing him to place his head on the desk.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_He didn't know where he was. Where was he? He didn't feel like he was in his body but he could move his vision around. The corridor was black – pitch black. Black marbles lined the walls, flooring, and ceiling. Columns burst out, lining the walls. At the end of the corridor was a door, ominously towering over everything. Behind it, he could hear whispers of thousands of voices, their words twisting together to create a swirl of meshing screams and wails. _

_With an invisible hand, he pushed open the door. Inside the world was dark. The faint bluish pale glow of the orbs lighted the cases the orbs were sitting on, the cases stretching for miles in the seemingly-endlessly large room. The voices grew louder as he moved down the aisles of cases and glowing orbs, voices grabbing out for his attention._

_He stopped as an orb tipped from the case and floated down to him. On a faded white tag read, "D.F. to A.P.W.B.D. - - - - - - - -"_

_The words under were smeared, the ink worn and gone with the secrets of who the tag was addressed too. Touching the orb, he heard the booming voice of a male. A male speaking with power far beyond his years of understanding; power of the world, of the universe, of __**fate**__._

"He who has escaped Death's invitation will walk their awaiting road of destiny. Born of darkness and light, he will grasp the power of destruction…. Born of the damned and the saved, he will be the one to raise amongst the weak to claim his throne. With a soul to sell, he will rise."

_The orb fell from the trembling hand (that he still could not see), bouncing on the ground. The orb stilled before rolling the opposite direction. Taking chase, he found himself in the center of a handful of aisles leading to other orbs and cases. The glass sphere lifted into the air before flashing, the smiling face of _someone _appearing as a voice rung out._

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Damian!"

Shooting up and slamming his fist into the person who startled him awake, Damian blinked into consciousness as the poor first year wailed as he clenched his broken nose, reeling to the floor away from the panting child. Dick stood close, his face etched in worry as Damian looked in straight in the eye.

"Class dismissed. Ms. Muffet, please take Mr. Beading to the infirmary," Dick ordered and the students bustled out of the classroom, Damian staying where he was sitting. Once all the students were gone and the blood was cleaned up (courtesy of a very nice Gryffindor) Dick had moved to sit across from Damian, his eyes gleaming seriously.

"Damian," Dick started in a hushed voice, moving a hand to touch the boy. Damian stiffed, Dick's hand twitching before he could make contact with the smaller child's shoulder. Pulling back, he ran a hair through his hair, sighing. "Damian, please. What's wrong? You don't usually have nightmares, let allow attack wildly. What happened?"

Damian looked down, biting his lower lip as his eyes narrowed. He wasn't usually this weak. No, he was never weak! So what – what and why did he have that dream. It couldn't be classified as a nightmare but his heart was pounding, his fingers trembling, and his breathing was finally calming down. He leaned away from Dick, still not meeting his eyes. Instead, he stared at his hands. His trembling hands. What was this?

Was this fear?

Why would he be scared of such a pointless, meaningless dream? And those words – what were they? Did they mean anything? Anything at all? Why did it affect him so? The words themselves, when he thought over them, sent a stab of fear through his heart.

"_Born of the damned and the saved, he will be the one to raise amongst the weak to claim his throne. With a soul to sell, he will rise."_

A shiver rushed down his spine, Damian gritting his teeth as his clenched his eyes shut, bending his head down to keep his expression hidden. Dick sat in silence, watching. The boy before him – he didn't know how to react. Damian was obviously affected by his dream. But – how? What did he see in his dream? What would he have dreamt of that could affect him in such a way?

"Damian," Dick stated, his voice cutting through the silence that had fallen between the two. Damian looked up, his blue eyes wide slightly. Dick reached out, brushing some of the boy's short black hair back, smiling warmly to him.

"Remember," the man spoke, "you can trust me. I am here for you for a reason, okay?" Leaning forward slightly, he conked their foreheads together gently. Damian stared straight ahead, his eyes wide slightly before he looked to the ground again, his eyebrows scrunching up.

"Stupid Grayson," Damian spoke as he shot backwards, jumping up from his chair. He moved to the door, his grip on his books unnecessarily tight. "I don't need you to tell me something like that. Especially something so stupid as that." Walking out of the classroom, Dick could only watch with a wide smile on his face.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Alright everyone," Madame Hooch bellowed as she looked at the students, who were floating in the air as they waited for further instruction. Damian, seeming to be acting out of sorts, was drifting away from the crowding group of students, listening boredly to the Professor.

"I want you all to fly laps around the school. Don't go to high and be aware of your surroundings!" Madame Hooch spoke and the students whooped out in joy, shooting past each other. Damian, watching the others were half-lidded eyes, started to move at snail's pace after them.

After all, he's felt the joy of flying, even if he flew in a Batjet.

"Damian!"

Looking to the right, Damian was greeted with an innocent looking first year girl from his House. Not seeing any threat, Damian floated closer to her.

"Yeah?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her as she merely smiled. Reaching a hand out, Damian stiffened as her hand lightly tapped him.

"TAG!" She squealed and shot off in the air, giggles and screams to run following after her. The other students, who had been hovering a little ways away, shot off behind. Damian hovered there, his eye twitching.

"DAMN HARLOT!" He yelled, taking chase. Leaning forward, he felt the air slap against his face as he gritted his teeth, shifting his body weight to balance. As he gained speed, he saw that the Slytherins were beginning to join the muggle-game of Tag, some questioning what the game was while others asked about casting spells.

"Kill them all," Damian muttered darkly to himself as his eyes watered from the vicious force of the wind. Shaking his head, he sped up, reaching the girl who had tagged him. Racing up beside her, he smirked at her gapping face.

"Tag," he spat out as he shot a foot out, knocking her off balance, "you're it." Watching her scream before colliding with her group of friends, Damian flew back down to the ground, where Madame Hooch was.

Madame Hooch stood there with her arms on her hips, her eyes glaring at the boy.

"Mr. Wayne! You do **not **kick someone's broom! You could have caused her to fall off!" Madame Hooch chided, stepping up to the boy as he landed on the ground. Damian snorted and rolled his shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.

"I didn't," he spoke, "so it doesn't matter."

Watching the boy move to the corridor opening, Hooch could only look after him with a stricken expression.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Thank you for coming," Professor Umbridge spoke from her spot behind the desk. Damian blinked, seeing the Potter kid sitting at a desk, looking to him with confusion. Damian shuffled to the empty desk across from the boy and sat down, glaring at the woman.

"Mr. May has already dealt his detention. It's just you two boys tonight," Umbridge stated, passing out a sheet of parchment for each boy. Harry instinctively reached for his quill, only to be stopped by the woman. Looking at her in confusion, he sat in silence as she handed both boys a quill pen.

"There will be no need for ink," Umbridge stated, looking down at them from her nose. "Now, Mr. Potter, I want you to write 'I will not tell lies' until I tell you to stop. Understand?" Umbridge asked, Harry nodding uncertainly as he began to write. He paused, however, and looked to Damian to see what he had to write.

"Mr. Wayne, you shall write 'I will not daydream in class and will not leave class without permission,' alright?" Umbridge gave a smile as the boy glared at her, his grip on his pen threatening to crack the wooden writing utensil.

"TT," he grumbled, placing his quill tip to the paper.

**I…**

Instantly he looked to his left hand, which was bleeding. I crisp, sharp 'I' was carved into his flesh. Harry, who had also began to write, hissed as his own words cut into his hand.

"Did I say for you to stop?" Umbridge asked, smiling to the two boys from her desk. The two shared looks before continuing on their writing.

Umbridge sat at her desk, her eyes piercing the two of them. The Potter child would flinch and grit his teeth, but other than that, no outward reaction to the pain inflicted on him. The Wayne child, on the other hand, barely even seemed to notice his hand was being cut into too. He continued to scribble out the words with a careless pace, not even batting an eyelash to the words rapidly carving into his skin. Blood was already soaking into the parchment paper, but the boy's bored expression didn't lessen. If anything, it increased. The Potter boy had dropped the quill, his fingers trembling. He had let his eyes flicker to Wayne and had paused in alarm, seeing how easy the boy was writing.

It was as if he was used to pain.

Damian scribbled out the words with flying hands, his left hand clenching as he thought of how absolutely amazing it'd feel to shove this into the flabby flesh of the woman before him. Smirking to himself as he daydreamed ways of killing the Umbridge harlot, he barely even noticed the time ticking by. He barely even noticed how much his hand was bleeding. All he noticed was the increasing glare the woman was sending him. It was getting annoying.

Harry stared. The words on the back of Damian's hand were being carved to fast; the skin didn't have time to heal over. If the boy paused for a moment, the wounds began to heal, only to be cut back open when he continued to his slur of writing. Harry couldn't even take 10 sentences before his hand was trembling, but here was Damian, already writing on the back of the paper.

What was he?

An hour later, Harry was beyond exhausted. His hands were trembling and his jaw hurt from gritting it so hard. Looking to Damian, he could only wish he was like the boy. Damian was leaning back in his chair, yawning, looking as if he wasn't in pain. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe the rumors about the boy being a demon child were true. It'd make more sense.

"I don't think the message is getting across," Umbridge began from her seat at her desk, "come again tomorrow night." Both boys looked to her, Harry's one of pain while Damian's was one of irritation.

Walking out of her office, the boy's parted way. Harry watched in confusion as Damian walked the opposite way of the Gryffindor tower, instead heading to the Grand Hall. Shrugging (since it really wasn't any of his business), the chosen boy left for bed.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian moved past the Grand Hall, his footsteps soundless as he moved across the empty hallway, his head bowed. His hands were clenched at his side, his nails digging into his palms. The back of his left hand was swollen red, dry blood coating the top of the flesh. A few drops of blood escaped from the open parts of the words that couldn't be magically closed, having suffered from the rapid abuse. Trudging down the corridor, he went up the stairs of a stairwell. Ascending up the stairs, his teeth gritted and his eyes scrunched up, his shoulder trembling with suppressed rage. Reaching the door at the top of the stairwell, he leaned forward, slamming his closed fist against the door.

Footsteps sounded from behind the door and within seconds, the wooden door was opened. Dick stood there, looking at his partner in concern.

"Dami?" Dick asked, his eyes instantly flashing to the wounded hand, which had automatically caught his eye. He had been trained to notice the smallest of change in or on someone. Seeing a swollen, red wound on his little brother's hand wasn't something he could overlook.

Gently taking the boy by the shoulder, he led him into the room and closed the door. Steering the boy to the bed, he plopped down and had Damian sit down next to him. Taking his abused hand and lifting it slowly, his eyes peered at the wound.

"Was it a knife?" Dick asked, his voice coming out cold. He looked directly into Damian's eyes, which were still scrunched up. Damian looked to the bed, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Damian. Was. It. A. Knife?" Dick demanded, his voice dropping a few octaves lower, the temperature in the tower suddenly falling. Damian shook his head, looking like a puppy who was being yelled at for wetting the carpet.

"What was it?" Dick asked, moving to get his first-aid kit. Damian merely watched him in silence, his fists clenching at his dress pants.

"Can't guess?"Damian snapped softly, looking up as Dick sat down in front of him, taking his hand in his again. Dick closed his eyes, humming softly to himself as he began to clean and patch up the wound.

"It must have been a magical tool if the flesh had been healed around the wound. What did she use?" Dick asked, ruffling Damian's hair. Damian glared, smacking the man's hand away.

"TT," he spat, "it was some stupid quill…" he trailed off, looking to his hand. It didn't hurt. Throb, maybe, but not hurt. He's gone through so much worse; so much more pain that Umbridge can ever imagine of inflicting on someone. But he hated it – hated that he couldn't do anything about it. Dumbledore had demanded that they not harm any of the attendees of Hogwarts, students or faculty. Sure, Damian had threatened a few kids, but he hasn't broken any noses yet…well, one, but that was an accident.

"A quill?" Dick asked, tilting his head to the side as he moved the blankets out from under Damian, forcing him to move under the covers. Damian nodded and began to retell his story of his detention, punching the pillows every so often when he got frustrated. Dick just listened, moving a hand to pat the boy on the head when he was finished.

"Thank you for telling me," Dick chirped out, a tight smile in place. Damian, seeing the smile, knew that the detentions were going to stop. Fast. If there was one thing people should know about Richard 'Dick' Grayson was that if he has precious people, you don't mess with them. If you even poked them hard enough to bruise, you'd end up in the hospital with a broken collar bone. He was extremely protective, especially of Damian, Tim, and Jason.

"Good night Grayson," Damian grumbled as he burrowed his way into the pillows and covered, curling into a ball. Dick smiled softly to him, turning his back to him as he too laid down for a well deserved rest.

"Night Damian," he chirped, hearing the light intakes of breath from the boy beside him.


	6. Cold

**Reaper: **T**his **was...a very fast update. I started typing this yesterday and couldn't seem to stop! LOL. It's kind of sort and rather random (in my opinion), but I am trying to get gears moving. I have a lot in store for this story. A lot. I seem to be focusing on Damian and Dick a lot (I apologize), but they are EXTREMELY important to this story (why else would they be in here?)

**random obsession **You are very much so welcomed~! 3

** DeathwishJV **I hope to make a sequel! LOL. Oh trust me deary, I want to get more in this story! Also, please, if you have any ideas you'd like to share, don't be shy. : D (Oh god, that sounded horribly bitchy, didn't it?)

** Stevie.x **-blushes- this story is EPIC (and in caps?). Oh jeez, you make me so happy~! 3 LOL, is this soon enough?

** MeganVL **Take your time, sweetie. Don't rush and force yourself if you don't have the feel for what you are writing~! Also, dear, you are amazing! Of course I'd mention you. I'LL MENTION YOU A HUNDRED TIMES! I am glad the last chapter was awesome. I hope this one does justice as well.

** Unamed One**

**darkryubaby **Updated~! 3 Haha! : )

**Kimura Hana**

**ajas136 **I updated sooner than 2 months! -pats to be pat on the head-

**Lillyrox**

**Your Local Cow **; A ; -stares at your long review- Oh gosh, I wuv you! Actually, the 'emo-quill' (I laughed at that) is cannon. Umbridge used it on Harry when he kept saying Voldemort was back. She didn't like it so punished him for it (as well as yelling out in class without raising his hand...but, meh). Also, THANK YOU FOR POINTING ON THOSE MISTAKES. I still laugh at what I had put. "WHAT. IS. A. KNIFE." XD Oh lord. Only Dick would say that, only Dick.

**Hount-Walf **I like the fatherly/brotherly relationship between Big D and Lil D too...as well as other relationships. COUGH. Anyways, thank you for enjoying my story~!

**Fun fact: **Did you know that when I read the reviews from my Email, the word **DICK **is replaced with two little asterisks? It's pretty funny. It took me a while to understand it was bleeping it out, because before I was like '...who and Damian?" XD

**Warning: AU, mentions of death, OOC, Damian (a warning himself), OOC, no plot (I am horrible with plots), OOC, OUT OF CHARACTERNESS. YEAH. I AM HORRIBLE AT KEEPING CHARACTERS IN CHARACTER. Yeah...**

**Also, **does anyone have the new lay-out for FanFic? Is it me, or is it EXTREMELY ANNOYING? Why is everything aligned in the center? D : I don't need to see a text box explaining the summery after every chapter. Please, change back!

* * *

><p>Dolores Umbridge was a woman of high respect. She was way up in the Ministry and held her job before anything else. She didn't take children seriously and seemed to be able to handle her own. Disciplining naughty children were one of the many responsibilities she took when she applied for the job of 'helping' Hogwarts. If it meant keeping children out of trouble and her in good light, she'd do anything to help her favor.<p>

Even if it meant causing a little bit of pain.

As the muggle saying went – no pain, no gain, right? So really, her ways of discipline shouldn't bother the Ministry, nor those of Hogwarts. After all, she was doing her job; looking after the students and protecting them. Children learned their mistakes with a good slap on the hand, right?

Wrong.

If a child was told not to touch a burning flame, they'd obviously listen to you because you were in the higher power, right? No, of course not. They'd stick their whole, grubby little hand in the fire and then wail their head off as it burned their flesh. But because they were disobedient, they learned never to touch fire again.

So, if you thought of Umbridge's detention methods, nothing was wrong. Her blood-quills were no different from the flames that burn a child's hand. Once they are introduced to the pain, they'd try their best to stay clear of the danger.

Right?

Dolores looked up from her plate as a shadow casted over her vision. Her eyes met startling blue. Dick Grayson, the new (and first) muggle professor stood there, his face set in a void expression.

"Madame Umbridge," he began in a dark voice. The other teachers at the table paused from their eating, as well as some nosy students who were watching the scene. "I believe we need to talk. Now." Dolores's eyes widened and her cheeks went purple at the arrogance of the man in front of her. Who did he think he was, demanding a conference as if he were the King of England? Did he not realize that he was a mere muggle in the world of magic, where one step could be his last if he set off the wrong wizard?

Setting her utensils down, Dolores raised a thin eyebrow, puckering her lips. "And why," she spoke with a pitch too high, "should we discuss anything? If I remember correctly, we've never exchanged words. So what is there to discuss?"

"Madame Umbridge," Dick spoke and his voice cut into her soul like a knife, "I wasn't requesting a conference. I was demanding. Now, do we have to act like children ready to exchange fists or can we act like the adults we are and head outside the Hall for a talk?" Dick asked, leaning away from her to rest a hand on his hip, his eyes cold and threatening. Dolores stared into his eyes, feeling her stomach clench slightly at the look in his eyes.

He looked like he could kill her with his words alone.

Standing numbly from her chair, she casted a sideways glance to Dumbledore, who was watching the two with hawk-like intensity. Snape and Minerva were also watching, though side-ways glances and slightly jerks of the head couldn't really be considered watching, more like glimpsing.

"If you'll excuse us," Dolores spoke, coughing under her breath as she waddled her way down the steps and to the doors of the Grand Hall. The students, hushing one another as Dolores passed, watched with child-like wonder at what was going on. Harry and Damian, on the other hand, merely glared at the woman as she snailed by, her heavy breathing echoing around the Grand Hall. As the doors closed the Hall burst into chatter of confusion and curiosity. Harry and Damian sat in silence, Damian looking down at his hand, which had the faint pale lines of words scared across.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Sitting in Dolores's office, the two adults looked at each other in silence. Dolores breathed through her nose, her cat plates meowing and purring as Dick watched her, his face stone-set.

"Your ways of discipline are certainly…different from what I'd expect from a teacher," Dick began, his voice coming out curt and tight. Almost strained. Dolores nodded, her eyes moving to her wand, which she was absently rolling back and forth against the desk.

"Most wouldn't agree with my methods, but they are the best to use when dealing with troublemakers," the woman spoke, her eyes shooting up to Dick. The two entered a staring contest, Dolores continuing to roll her wand and Dick continuing to hold his stone-like expression.

"Perhaps I should cut to the chase," Dick spoke and scooted closer to Dolores, sitting at the edge of his chair. Leaning his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together under his nose, he donned a glare.

"You harmed _my _Damian. He is my charge and you _harmed _him. Sure, he may not think anything of it at the moment, but the fact is you actually caused him to bleed," his voice was low and dark, the words biting out like ice piercing into the flesh. "Damian is a tough kid – hell, he probably thinks what you did was just a scratch. He's gone through a lot worse – this is just another scab to pick at." Dick closed his eyes and Dolores found the air in the room to be thinning. "But you decided to make that child bleed. You shed his blood, Madame Umbridge. That is something I certainly cannot deal with."

Suddenly he was in front of Dolores, his hands on the desktop and his figure towering over her's. Dolores's eyes were wide, her mouth opening and closing in breathless gasps. "You will **not **lay a hand against Damian again, do you understand? I will find **no more **scars on him, do you understand? I will **not **hear of you calling any more detentions on him, _do you understand_?" He stressed each word by closing the distance between them, backing the woman into her chair, which whined in protested at the pressure. His eyes were glowing against the dangerous shadows of his face, his teeth clenched.

Dolores breathed out as Dick leaned back, glaring down at her from his nose. "Damian Wayne is off limits, do you understand? Actually, every student is off limits. What you are doing is abusive. And I don't do abusive. If I can stop it, I **will**."

Dolores's mind useless thrust out a piece of information she had read up on his file (a file which she had secretly read when hearing of the new Muggle faculty member).

"You were a muggle cop back home," she stated with her breathless, high pitched voice. Dick's eyes narrowed. "You have no control here. You aren't in your little town, acting on your little laws. This is _my _school, so I will do what I-!"

A fist flashed past her, slamming against a glass plate beside her head. The cats and kittens hissed and scurried around as the shards of glass crumbled to the floor, Dolores gapping at the man whose face was dark and dangerous and ready to kill.

"You do not know who you are messing with," Dick growled out, his eyes narrowed on the woman. "I suggest you take my warning and leave it at that. Touch any of the students and you won't be dealing with **me**." Turning his back to her, he walked out of the office.

Dolores sat at her desk, her hands trembling and her lips flapping again as her kittens cried for their broken friend.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**CRACK.**

**CRACK.**

**CRACK.**

**CREAK.**

**CRACK.**

**SLAM!**

Dick's fist collided with the bark over and over again, sweat flying off him as he continued his assault on the tree. The sounds of grass shifted caused him to turn his head, blond locks falling from behind a tree trunk.

"You shouldn't be out here, Ms. Lovegood," Dick stated as he turned away from the tree, shaking his bleeding, raw hands in the air. Luna peeked from behind the tree, blinking owlishly at him. She walked into the open, tugging on a slightly tan hand. Dick raised an eyebrow as Harry stumbled after her, looking flushed and embarrassed.

"Hullo," she greeted with her airy voice. Harry stammered his greeting awkwardly, his eyes widening at the sight of the tree. A good size hole was punched into the bark, the wood splintered and cracked through the whole of the tree. If one pushed hard enough, Harry was sure the tree would tilt sideways.

"You shouldn't be out here," Dick repeated, bending down to grab his towel on the earthy ground. Wiping his brow of sweat, he noticed how the two's hands were intertwined. His eyes flashed to their faces and their bodies, taking in all signs. They weren't holding the posture of lovers, nor held any signs of romantic emotions in their eyes for each other. They reminded Dick of how his relationship with Donna Troy was. They were close, yes, but they weren't a couple. They were like siblings.

Shaking his head away from his musing, he crossed his arms in a parenting way. The two blinked at him.

"Again, what are you two doing out here? I thought the Forbidden Forest was off limits to students," Dick stated with a frown, his eyebrow raised in question. Luna looked to the side while Harry stood straight, ready to defend the girl if needed.

"We were taking a walk," Luna spoke out before Harry could speak. Both males looked to her. "We were taking a walk," she repeated. Dick looked at her closely and, though knowing she was lying, merely sighed and shook his head. Ruffling both their hair, he collected his shirt, robe, socks, and shoes. Looking to the two, he jerked his head in the direction of the castle.

"Let's go," he spoke and began to move to the school. Luna and Harry followed after, Harry sending Luna a grateful smile. Looking back at the two whose hands were still clasped together, Dick chuckled to himself.

"Is your hand alright, Professor?" Harry spoke out, looking to Dick's hand, which was still bleeding around the knuckles. Dick looked to his raw, bloody hand and outright laughed, startling Harry while Luna merely stared at him.

"This is merely a flesh wound," Dick spoke with a chuckle as he blew on the ripped flesh. Harry and Luna exchanged looked while Dick hummed to himself, reaching the exit of the forest. Walking the two to their House towers, the journey was done in silence.

"If you guys decide to _walk _again, don't be afraid to ask me to join. I actually love the nightlife," Dick sent off, waving to Harry goodbye as he walked the corridor from the Gryffindor tower. The boy watched him before slipping past the portrait.

Walking into the commons area, Harry jumped when he came face-to-face with Damian. Damian, standing straight with his arms crossed over his chest, glared at Harry.

"Why," the boy hissed, "did I hear Grayson on the other side of the portrait? Was he with you? Why was he with you? Where were you?" Damian demanded, getting right in Harry's face. Harry held his hand sup in a gesture to back off, coughing and pushing his glasses up.

"I was in the Forbidden Forest with Luna…walking…" he trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing in uncertainty. "We bumped into Professor Grayson on the way back. He was punching a tree. Speaking of which, are we going to learn to punch trees in half?" Harry blurted out, remembering how damaged the bark of the tree was. Damian's blue eyes sparked slightly before he snorted.

"TT," he spat, "a weakling like you would have to train for years before you could even reach the level where you could crack the bark on a trunk." Turning to his stairwell, he left Harry by himself in the empty commons area. Apparently the boy had cleared the area out sometime before Harry arrived.

"Then why do I think you'd be able to do it…?" Harry whispered to himself, staring down at his hands.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

The students blinked at Professor Grayson, their eyes boring into his hands, which were covered by bandages. Harry seemed to be the only one who wasn't curious of his wounds like the rest of the class. Hermione and Ron seeming to care only slightly.

"I wonder what he did to get those bandages," Ron mused to his friends silently, only paying half-attention to Dick's lesson on dodging a kick. Hermione, who was listening with rapt attention, elbowed him in the gut. Harry snickered into his hand when Dick made a comment about how Ron could have blocked the gut attack.

"Now," Dick's voice echoed as he spoke loudly to the outside class, "if you have a kick coming for your upper body, you will want to use the outside of your arms to block it. You have muscle there for a reason. Now, it will hurt, but it's better than receiving bruised or broken bones, right?" Dick patted his arm and pointed to the part that you used, poking at his muscle and then pointing to his ribs. The girls watched, trying to cover their blushes as merely flustered colors from the slightly harm heat, though the boys knew better.

"Hem hem," the voice of nails called out. Dick's smile fell and a blank, void expression overtook his face. The students reeled back as he turned slowly to see Umbridge standing there, tight-lipped smile in place.

"Mr. Grayson, dear," the woman choked out, her smile straining by each passing second, "a word, if you'd please."

"Practice blocking kicks," Dick instructed and moved to walk with the woman ear-shot distance away. Crossing his arms across his chest and glaring at the woman, he waited for her to speak.

"Your ward," Umbridge started, seeing how Dick's body tensed and his muscles flared in an act of habit, "Mr. Wayne. He is…what is the word…" Umbridge trailed off, tapping her sausage-like finger to her chin. Dick absently wondered how she fit all her ugly rings on her fingers, since they looked too huge to even hold anything. Magic most likely.

"Yes, he is a little heathen," Umbridge spoke with a smile, her eyes narrowed dangerously. Obviously she was looking for a challenge.

"What do you want? Here to insult my charge?" Dick seethed out, his fists clenching against his arms. Umbridge shook her head (to the best of her ability), her hands tapping against her grotesque thighs.

"You see," she began, "it has come to my attention that the boy **needs **detention. He has no self-control, nor does he respect anyone. I've read from your file that you are the person in charge of him. You have to keep him in check. You're doing a poor job at that, you know," Umbridge slid her eyes to Dick, whose face was losing color faster and faster with each word. What was she plotting?

"Well, I've come to the decision. If you cannot control your charge, I will be forced to remove you as the Muggle Defense Teacher," Umbridge smiled to herself, pleased with her words. Dick, on the other hand, stared at her as if she had spoken Romani.

"You can't do that!" He burst out, the students looking to him in confusion from his loud outburst. "You're just a professor like I am!" He snapped, glaring at the woman. She was reminding him of the Joker and The Penguin with each passing second.

"Oh," Umbridge's face lit up, "you haven't heard. I'm not the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor anymore. This very morning I was appointed the Hogwarts High Inquisitor." A smirk was on her face and she couldn't help but snort through her nose at her silent victory. She had him cornered. Dick stared.

"The what?" Dick asked, his nose scrunching up as if he smelt something foul. Dolores turned her nose up, her smirk shrinking into a proud smile.

"The Ministry of Magic appointed it to me. The Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three formed the position and declared me the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts," Dolores explained but frowned when she received a blank expression of Dick. Apparently she had to explain it in ways a stupid muggle could understand.

"It means I have the power to remove the professors that are unfit for Hogwarts. Like you," she glared. Dick's eyes narrowed and he squared his shoulders.

"So, it comes to this," he spoke and Umbridge snorted.

"Yes it does," she answered.

"Bring it," Dick hissed and turned, storming back to his students.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Professor…"

Dick looked up from his book, his eyes landing on Harry and Luna, who stared at him from the doorway of his classroom. Closing his book and slipping his reading glasses off (a gift from Barbara), he looked at them questioningly.

"We want to take another walk in the woods and were wondering if you'd like to come," Harry spoke, pointing to a messenger bag slung over Luna's shoulder. Dick smiled and stood up, fixing his notes and books in a neat little stack. Walking around his desk, he moved to his students.

"Um," Harry spoke as they walked out of the classroom. Dick turned to look at the boy who peeped, only to chuckle softly as he saw Damian standing there, glaring.

"Grayson! How dare you leave for the forest without me!" Damian hissed, glaring. Luna smiled to the boy who in turned huffed and marched past Dick, stomping towards the entrance of the forest.

"Is he always like that?" Harry asked softly. Dick chuckled.

"Yeah, but he'll warm up to you. Maybe," Dick answered and trudged on after his little charge.

As they walked along the trees, Harry and Luna moved to take front, leading the two raven heads down small slopes and through tree clearings. They stopped short before some trees, Harry turning to the two.

"Wait here. We'll be done in a second," Harry spoke and tugged Luna through the trees, disappearing between the green and grey scenery. Dick and Damian looked to each other before jerking their heads to where Harry and Luna had left, the sounds of horses ringing in the air.

Silently creeping after the two sneaky students, the heroes paused as they looked at the sight before them. Harry and Luna were feeding fish to horses – horses with wings and bones protruding through the thin layer of flesh.

"What are they?" Dick called out, startling the two students. They both turned to look at the two, Harry's eyes wide while Luna's were one of observation.

"They are Thestrals," Luna answered, feeling déjà vu. Looking to Harry, she saw him smiling secretly, as if remembering their encounter as well.

"What are they?" Damian asked, his question asking for a different meaning.

"They are creatures only seen by those who have seen death," Luna stated and looked directly to the two. Harry looked as well and was put off slightly when a look of pain flashed across Dick's face.

Dick stared at the two children before letting his eyes roam to the animal before him. A creature only seen by those who have seen death. His eyes filled with pain as he realized that Harry and Luna had seen death. They were so young.

"Professor?" Harry called out, looking at the adult oddly. He looked ready to cry, which Harry found odd. Damian snorted.

"Ignore him," Damian spoke, moving towards the beasts. "He just gets emotional when it comes to people seeing someone else die." Luna cocked her head to the side in silent wonder while Harry's eyebrows furrowed. Damian reached a hand up to the horse-like creature and let it sniff him.

"How old were you guys…?" Dick asked softly, closing in on the group. Harry's eyes winced, as if remembering the memory while Luna merely looked to the Thestrals.

"I was nine when my mother died. She blew up in a potions experiment gone wrong," Luna spoke softly to herself, holding her hand out to pet the beast before her. Dick's eyes squinted up in pain, screams echoing in his head.

Harry looked to the ground, clenching his fists. "Last year…" he fell silent, unable to speak as the memories rushed him. Luna placed a comforting hand on his arm while Damian looked at the two of them with unreadable expressions.

"Everyone has their stories. You can chose to share or not," he spoke and patted the nose of the horse, looking into its eyes. Harry looked at Damian, a sliver of respect for the boy. He wasn't a busy-body to tried to dig up painful things for Harry.

"You're just a child," Harry spoke and frowned, "how can you see them? I mean, Luna was young too but you…you don't seem like someone who'd be surrounded by death." Damian smirked at his words, his eyes narrowing to the boy.

"Oh, believe me," Damian chuckled dryly, "I've been surrounded by death since I was born. My mother and grandfather made sure of it." He turned to Dick, leaving Harry looking after him, lost. Luna tapped Harry and shook her head to him when he looked to her, silently signaling that it wasn't their place to know. Nodding slowly to her, they continued to pet and feed the Thestrals, Dick watching them from his spot leaning against the tree.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_He was walking down the corridor, the whispers of haunting voices almost deafening as he drew closer to the door. Pressing open the ajar door, he stepped into a room. The room was bare, cobwebs covering the corners and wall paper peeling off the surface walling. The window, which was letting moonlight stream through, was cracked and broken. _

_In the middle of the room was a looming shadow, the figure big and square. Taking a step back, he flinched as the shadow turned to face him._

"_You shouldn't be here," the gruff voiced shadow growled out, "not yet at least." Stepping towards him, the boy fled from the room, running down the hallways as laughter chased after him on his heels._

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Bloody 'ell! She's acting like the Headmaster or something," Ron snapped at dinner that night, glaring to Madame Umbridge, who was seated at the Teacher's table like usual. Dick was sitting the furthest away from her, stabbing at his meal. Students were grumbling and sulking, the air of the Hall stinking up from the foul moods. Umbridge had, during the day, went to each and every classroom and started to nit-pick at each and every fault and chose a teacher made. Not many were happy about it.

The Slytherins were the least affected, besides when Umbridge had the nerve to bash their House Head's class. Snape was a fine teacher; she didn't need to go about bickering about a speck of dust on a broken potion tube. The Hufflepuffs were shifting nervously in their seats, having caught word that she could remove a teacher from Hogwarts. What if she got rid of their favorite teachers? Ravenclaw students were sat back to observe, their ears and eyes picking at every single movement any student or teacher made. So far, Umbridge was just observing the teachers and their teachings. Though Ravenclaw noticed how she seemed to be keeping a tight check on the Muggle teacher, Grayson. Gryffindor, the ones who liked almost every teacher, were unnerved when they heard of her threat to Grayson. It meant an anger and hell-bent Damian, which they didn't want.

For those reasons, Dumbledore could only sigh softly to himself as he watched his beloved students continue to swirl discomfort in the air in the Hall, his eyes sliding to Grayson, who was ignoring everyone in favor of turning his chicken into mush.

"The year has just started," Albus heard Severus grumble under his breath with irritation and couldn't agree more.


	7. Lilitu

**Reaper: So, **I am a EXTREMELY horrible person! This lovely lady, **MeganVL**, has been writing a 'Spoof' story of this one! It's called **Robins Instead of Owls**. Check is out! Better yet, here's the link!

fanfiction s/7927408/1/Robins_instead_of_Owls

**MeganVL **also came up with the creation of Lilitu. You'll see her at the last part of the chapter. Don't worry, she isn't an OC...well, sorta. anyways.

**THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH TO:**

**ThePurpleSuperCow **Oh, she will. She will. -laughs hysterically-

**DeathwishJV **Harry/Dami fluff, huh? I like the sound of that. LOL. Also, for the idea with the cloak. That's not bad. Not bad at all~ I may just do that. I'm trying to slowly creep into the plot, because trust me - there is a lot that's going to go down. A lot. I attempted some Harry - Damian interaction. Hopefully it was alright. I'm still struggling with character personalities.

**Hakumei-chan **

**MagicalElvesHauntMe **Okay, first. Your name - I love it. Second~ I loved your head cannon (I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS WORD MEANS). I kinda went with it - hope that's cool and all. I can see Damian doing the same thing. LOL. Also, don't care if you are in public~! Just yesterday I ran towards this Robin cosplayer (one of these employees at Six Flags) like an idiot, screaming for a picture. Damn, was he cute...

**Your Local Cow **LOL. Read carefully. XD Remember, Damian is in this story, so anything is possible. Also, I believe Dumbledore is powerful, but Umbridge has the Ministry backing her up, so it might not be that simple.

**Dextra2 **Thanks~! : D

**Cunningham0208487 **I'm glad my chapters are pleasing you. I hope they do so from now onward (because I fear that once I head into the plot, it will go downhill)

**Hount-Walf **Updating~! LOL. I love your reviews. They make me so happy~!

**MeganVL **Please do! I want to see what you do for the previous chapter! LOL. Bro dude, sis, dudette, bro - I really love your story and your reviews! Don't stop doing what you are doing. You are amazing.

**LadiiAmethyst **I probably ruined what you thought would be 'funny'. I'm so sorry. D : If I did ruin what you thought would be funny, don't be afraid to say so. If I disappointed you at all with this chapter or anything you mentioned in your review, don't be scared or nervous to straight up tell me. I'll fix it. I went with your thought on Snape and kinda...stabbed it 12 times, set it aflame, and then pushed it off a cliff into sharp, jagged rocks. Sorry. Sorry. I am so terribly sorry! D :

**elemental9214**

**Stevie.x **-hands you Damian- you can hug him as much as you want. I rented him from Bruce. (Dick, on the other hand, was another story...)

**SayianWizard **Hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint you. : D

**Sylanc**

**BINtheremy real account **I don't know about Cassandra. I already have plans to bring a certain someone (Think - we all assumed he was the Robin in **TEEN TITANS** for his temper) into the story, but I don't know about Cassie. I mean, I haven't read a lot of the comics (I've only bought the New 52 ones) and I don't really know a lot about her or her personality. I'll sit on this, though, and see what I come up with. I will definitely show her in this story, I just don't know if I could fit her into being at Hogwarts. Sorry. D :

**MichaelaTheUchiha**

Jeez, I think I just fucked up everyones' hopes and expectations of this story with these review-answers. I hope I didn't let down anyone. I'M SO SORRY IF I DID! -cries-

ON ANOTHER NOTE - Did you know the Six Flags in New England has a **NIGHTWING **ride? I WANT TO RIDE IT. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW AT THIS VERY MOMENT. And the billboard is a picture of Nightwing with his blue finger stripes~! 3

Also, I went to Six Flags yesterday (the one in Texas). I GOT A BATMAN CAPE! And I got a adorable little chibi-Batman backpack. I swear it's Dick, though, because the Batman is smiling...so it has to be Dick! Also, I saw these employees dressed at the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Flash, and Robin. I didn't know if it was Robin from Young Justice or Tim Drake (not Red Robin) because their outfits are so similar. If you want to see a picture of either (the backpack or the Robin dress-up person), just ask. I'll post it up on my Tumblr (link can be found on my profile).

**WARNINGS: **AU (sorta), OOC, Damian, OOC, random points in the story that makes me want to smack my own forehead, OOC.

_Colloshoo: _A spell (mentioned on Pottermore) that makes a person's shoes stick to the ground.

_Lilitu: _Arabic for 'night' or 'of the night'. Google it (BUT HAVE 'NAME MEANING' AFTER or else all you will get are links about some demon who kidnaps and attacks children...what)

* * *

><p>It was a thin, small little line. A line which could not be crossed. He didn't know when this line was created or who created this line, but he grew up with this line as his boundaries. He could do anything he wanted as long as he didn't cross the line. As long as he stayed away from the line which he could not cross, everything would be fine.<p>

Sadly, the rest of the world was hell-bent on him crossing that line.

"Mr. Wayne, it's a simple spell. Just cast it, please," Professor McGonagall stressed, her lips pulling into a thin line as she waited patiently for the child before her to cast the spell. Really, was it too hard to ask for the boy to simply transfigure a book into a dog?

Damian had his feet kicked up on the desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he raised an eyebrow at the woman before him. She didn't scare him. His wand was placed on the desk before him, forgotten and abandoned. Not once, since arriving at Hogwarts, had any student seen the Wayne child cast a spell. Not in class, nor during the silly prank casting moments the students succumbed to when the twins got bored.

"I don't see the point in learning spells," Damian snapped out with a glare as he leaned forward, planting his hands on his desk. "It's useless! They are pieces of wood. They can't harm anymore!" Damian argued, glaring at the aged witch.

Minerva McGonagall huffed, looking at the stubborn child in front of her. Sure, she had her handful of rebellious, hard to manage children, but this was going overboard. Damian Wayne was as stubborn as a ox! The child had a short temper and the only one who could calm it was the muggle professor, Dick Grayson. Knowing that, she couldn't very well call the man out of his teachings to get the child to behave.

"It is just one incantation," she breathed out with narrowed eyes, her face dark. "Just one word. All you have to do is say it." Damian huffed, scoffing in her face.

"No thanks. I'll stick to using my fists instead of the weak poking sticks," the boy snapped out. McGonagall stared long and hard at the child, letting her heated gaze burn into his form. He stared right back, not backing down. In all her years of teaching….

Shaking her head, she turned to address the rest of the class. "For those of you who actually take learning seriously," she started as Damian scowled, "let us continue on with our lesson."

By the end of the class, Damian had a detention.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian stared up at the man before him, a thin black eyebrow raised.

"Grayson, I demand that you remove yourself from my personal space now," Damian snapped out, the students around him flinching as Dick, who was bubble-bursting close to the boy, looked to him in confusion.

"Whatcha talkin' about Dami?" Dick asked, stepping back none-the-less. Damian mentally sighed in relief, feeling as if he had air to breathe again. He hated when the man was too close. He wondered if it were a subconscious habit he had formed, a sort of mental tick to heal him?

"Grayson, you are annoying me with your slurring of the English language. I request you to step away from the bubble of air that I breathe before I break your face," Damian growled, glaring at the man. Dick blinked at him before laughing, his hand flashing out to grab hold of the boy's head. Gripping tightly to the flesh, he smirked.

"Someone's getting snippy," Dick cooed and Damian hissed lowly, flashing his arm out to punch the man away from him. Dick easily dodged backwards, shoving Damian back as he moved away. The students stared with wide eyes as the two fell into defensive stances, Dick smirking while Damian glared, his teeth showing.

"Today, class, I will show you how a proper spar is held. Rules," he began, "no weapons. Wands or knives, or anything else. Drop them." The students' eyes bulged out as they watched the boy take off his schooling robe, rustling through his uniform to take out hidden knives and sharp objects. A small pile of clanking metal formed to his side, Damian grumbling to himself as he glared at Dick like a child shedding his Halloween costume.

"Rule number two," Dick chirped as he kicked his shoes off, loosening his tie and rolling his shirt-sleeves up. The females swooned. "No breaking bones. Accidental breaks are alright, but no intentional hits to break bones or tear muscles. Understand?" Dick asked and the children briefly wondered if Damian would have done so without the rule. Damian nodded, kicking his shoes off as well. The girls blushed as the young boy all but tore his shirt off, revealing a rather rip form. Though, if you looked closely, you could see pale, thin lines marking his body.

"Rule three," Dick brushed his hair back, inhaling loudly, "The first person to shed blood loses. You stop the moment blood shows, understand?" Damian nodded and shot off, students rubbing their eyes as the boy appeared behind Dick.

Dick whirled around, catching Damian's outstretched leg in his arm before wrapping his hand around his ankle, intent on throwing him away. Damian shot his other leg out, twisting his body in ways so he didn't pull a muscle. Dick let go of him, leaning backwards to dodge the second kick. Damian landed on the ground in a crouch, shooting towards Dick's legs. Dick jumped up, flipping backwards as Damian leg-swept him. Growling low in his throat, the two males glared at each other.

Watching the fight, the Slytherins looked to each other with smirks on their faces. One first year snake slowly lifted his wand, making sure to have other boys block it from sight with their bodies.

"_Colloshoo,_" the first year hushed out, the wand shooting out a small spark. Damian jerked forward, his arms flailing out wildly as he fell frontward. Catching himself, he looked down to see his feet were glued to the ground, staying in the perked position of running. Growling low from his throat, he shot his eyes to the by standing children who were staring with slack jaws and bulging eyes.

"Don't just stand there!" Damian snapped out as he shot into a standing position, experimentally tugging on his legs. Hearing a pop, he numbly looked down to his knee.

"Grayson," he stated deadpan, "I just dislocated my kneecap." A first year Gryffindor female squawked in horror while the Slytherins roared in laughter, pointing to the boy. Dick, already marching over to him while collecting his article of clothing, frowned as he crouched down next to Damian. Poking at the ectoplasm gathered around his chard's feet, he turned his frowning face to the students.

"I won't punish whoever did this harmless prank, but please get rid of it," Dick stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. Damian gave a scoff and dug around in his pants once more, taking out his wand. Dick watched in curiosity as the boy begrudgingly pointed his wand to his feet, grumbling a spell under his breath. Soon the ectoplasm melted into nothing and sat down.

"How are you not howling in pain?" The same first year female squawked out, her hands moving to cover her face. Two other students were already rushing back to the group with Madame Pomfrey in tow, said woman looking around, flustered and lost of the situation.

"Good heavens!" Madame Pomfrey gasped out, flicking her wand out. Dick held a hand up, instantly stopping her. Madame Pomfrey set her eyes to the man, her gaze challenging as she stepped forward to get past him.

A pop and cough stopped her. She looked over the muggle teacher's shoulder to see Damian standing up, flexing his leg, which he had reset. She stared.

"How…what-what do you teach these children?" She huffed out, puffing out her chest while Dick laughed nervously, holding his hands up in ways of defensive. A snort caught their attention.

"Grayson teaches nothing of resetting injuries. Well, he does, but I didn't learn it from him," Damian began walking to them, both adults noticing the limp he was forcing out of his walk. "Your petty healing magic is useless when it comes to broken bones, stitching, or dislocated limbs. If you rely on magic for everything, then your body will grow weak and your bones frail." Damian snatched his shoes and robe from Dick's outstretched hand, pulling on his uniform as he snorted at the witch.

"Maybe you should have Grayson teach you a thing or two about fixing wounds without magic. I doubt _you _would know how to use a pen and a paperclip to dislodge a bullet from in between your ribcage," Damian offhandedly snapped, fixing his tie.

"And you would?" A Slytherin piped up, sneering at the boy with skepticism. Damian smirked darkly, his smile heavy with large, deep secrets and telling of past pains.

"Oh, you wouldn't even imagine," the boy muttered. Dick coughed into his clenched fist, ruffling his brother's hair. Madame Pomfrey watched, her eyes picking up on how Dick subtly bumped the boy's _injured _knee, causing his leg to buckle for a second. Growling, the ex-assassin glared at his older brother, who innocently looked to Madame Pomfrey.

"Madame Pomfrey," Dick began in a smooth tone, "I don't think Damian is fully healed from his dislocated knee. Would you be so kind as to take him to the infirmary? Just to make sure all is well?" Tilting his head to the side, he gave his infamous Grayson smolder, causing the students and the elder woman to awkwardly cough.

"I will kill you," Damian hissed darkly under his breath as the woman latched onto his robe sleeve, hauling him away. Dick watched for a few moments before dismissing the class to take a break, calling out to the group of Slytherins bunching up together.

The Slytherin children looked at him awkwardly as he smiled to them, his hands behind his back.

"So," he spoke, "let's talk. All of you," they looked up at him as his smile fell. "Detention. I will speak with your head of house about what you did today."

"What? What can a filthy-!" The student fell silent, feeling a piercing glare on his form. Turning slightly, he saw Damian standing a little ways away, glaring darkly at them. Madame Pomfrey was beside him, ushering him into the castle.

"I can. As a Professor, I have the right to place a detention on all of you. Especially you, Mr. Hiddleton." The boy in the middle of the group flinched and stuffed his wand into his pocket, looking down at the ground.

"You didn't think I noticed you lifting your wand? You weren't very stealthy," Dick spoke and frowned in thought , tapping his finger on his chin. "You know, that may be the next lesson for class. Stealth. It's very important." He smirked darkly as he stepped forward, the air around the children suddenly cold.

"If you try to go against my rules again," Dick spoke, his voice dropped down a few pitches in such a way that made them want to break down into sobs, "I will personally see to it that you are punished for your injustices. Is that understood?" He asked, his face dark against the shadows his towering figure was creating. Nodding, he watched the boys scurry off. Sighing, he smiled to himself.

"I guess living with you really helps when you need to intimidate someone, huh Bruce?" he asked softly to himself, chuckling softly.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian sat with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the white tile flooring. Madame Pomfrey paced around the room, fussing and fuming as she gathered bandages and ointment, casting glares to the boy as she did so.

"Honestly! Keeping such a wound from everyone! What would you do if it got infected! You're just lucky your Guardian knew how to clean wounds," Pomfrey clucked as she shook her head, standing in front of Damian. Prying his arms out, she took his left hand in her cold grip, dabbing hard at the pink, swollen skin. The words, wounds of the blood-quill he had received only a few days before, were still readable and red, blood sometimes spilling out if the skin pulled.

"It's nothing," Damian mumbled, looking to the side. He stilled as his eyes landed on the Potter child, who was silently standing near the door, rubbing his arm awkwardly. Pomfrey, feeling the boy stiffen, turned to stare at the boy.

"Oh," she stated in a deadpan voice, "you. Well, what is it this time?" The aging woman sighed, shaking her head as she muttered things about 'suicidal children' and 'self-harming crazies'. Damian snorted at her grumbles, his eyes watching as Harry sat down on a bed, smiling with embarrassment.

"Things got out of hand with Hagrid," Harry stated, lifting his arm up to show a bleeding cut. Pomfrey huffed at the sight of the wound before moving over, her wand flashing out and cutting the sleeve of his robe off. Damian watched, curious, as the medical witch began to work.

Not once did Harry hiss when Pomfrey dabbed him with stinging ointment. Thinking back to it, Damian never heard him cry over the quill, either.

He was strong, he deemed. Strong enough to take pain.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked as Pomfrey moved to her cabinets, eyes blinking behind spectacles. Damian closed his eyes, his hands moving to his knees as he slid off the bed.

"Grayson was stupid and thought I was in pain," he snorted and jerked is knee out, slamming it against the bed leg. Pomfrey clucked at him from the background. "I don't feel pain."

Harry stared at him with narrowed eyes, his eyebrow raised.

"Right," he muttered and moved to the door, holding his newly bandaged arm in his grip. "Well, it's time for lunch. You coming?" Harry asked, turning back to Damian, who was walking towards him. Harry noticed the slight limp but said nothing, wondering if the boy damaged his leg during class. He had heard the first years talking of their upcoming lessons with Grayson that morning during breakfast.

Damian brushed past Harry, scowling. "Don't order me around. Do so again and I will break your fingers one by one," Damian threatened and walked out of the room, Harry rushing to catch up to him.

"So how was class with Professor Grayson?" Harry asked as he caught up to Damian, who was beginning to walk normal again. Damian's scowl seemed to soften for a second before it was brought right back, his face darkening and his eyebrows furrowing.

"Pointless. I would have shown my true strength if not for the idiotic worms in that pathetic reptilian house. If they are so great and powerful, why do they need to resort to such weak and cowardly acts?" Damian spat, his pace quickening as anger set in. If it weren't for that mindless spell, he could have had Grayson where he wanted.

"Because what are snakes known for?" Harry asked softly, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Being useless bodies of wobbling mass of venom and scales that care only for crushing their prey and tending to the gardens," Damian spoke and Harry stared at him for a second.

"….do you know how to make a joke? That was an opening to a joke, you know," Harry piped up.

"Shut up Potter before I introduce your face to that mural!" Damian roared out, rushing down the hall.

"That wasn't nice! What did that potter ever do to…oh, you cheap little imp," Harry chirped, catching up.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian stabbed at his vegetables, glaring at nothing and everything. His mind was swirling with thoughts on the newest annoyance in his life – Harry Potter.

Potter was a boy who was a mystery to Damian, from what he's seen. He's told to be some great warrior who'll defeat this 'Dark Lord' whoever the hell that was, but all he sees is a meek, attention-shy boy who could take pain and make a snarky comment when needed.

"Man, that man is such a gloomy bat!" Weasley snapped out, instantly drawing Damian to their conversation. Looking to the teens, he waited for the other two to speak.

"Come now Ronald," Granger chided, "Snape isn't all that bad." Potter nodded next to the female, munching on his chicken. Damian watched them, waiting.

"I bet you at night, when everyone's asleep, he sneaks out and eats bugs and such like a bat," Weasley continued, glaring in the direction of the Slytherin House Head. Damian snorted, automatically allowing the Golden Trio to know he was listening in.

"If you believe that Snape man is a bat, don't even come to Gotham. You'll think of Snape as some sort of innocent fairy compared to what Gotham deems a **bat**," Damian stated and the three blinked at him.

"What do you mean?" Granger asked, though Damian could see it in her eyes that she had an understanding of what he meant.

Batman.

"Gotham is protected by a bat. The man you are speaking of, Snape, he is no bat. He would be deemed a pathetic excuse of a man, merely following instead of leading his own life," Damian spoke.

"I don't understand anything you are saying. Are you mental?" Weasley quipped, Granger elbowing him in the ribs. Wheezing, the Weasley boy hugged himself.

"You speak of that man as a bat. A bat is a mammal that hunts and attacks in the darkness of the night. A bat is the symbol of fear – the blind, unseen fear that the world holds for those who are unlucky enough to step into the tainted world that lies beside the innocent fantasy many people sink themselves into. A bat is the reality of the world – dark, bleak, empty, and so spacious. A _bat _is someone who carries the weight of the world on their shoulders, burdening all that the world can throw at you. A bat is someone who, despite being blind and helpless and **powerless**, will use their sheer willpower and determination to see through the darkness and gain sight in their successes. That is a bat," Damian spoke, his eyes glossy and distant, his mind falling into a memory of a time before his freedom. A time of forced ways of living and blood. Lots and lots of blood.

"Severus Snape is no bat," Damian snapped out as he pulled himself from the memory he was about to be dragged into. "Snape is merely one of the crickets that a bat eats – prey for real bats to feed on."

Potter's startling green eyes glared at Damian, Granger and Weasley looking between the two as they locked gazes. "Then pray tell," Potter uttered, "who is a bat. In this very room, point out one person who is a _bat_." Damian's eyes flashed at the mere insulting mockery the boy was subjecting to him. Shooting up from the bench, the students sitting around them seemed to quiet down as Damian flashed his arm out, pointing directly to Dick, who blinked up from his plate.

"He," Damian growled out as the Golden Trio raised eyebrows in shock, "is one. And don't you ever question or mock that. If you do, I will kill you. Kill you," Damian stormed from the table, bursting out of the Hall with such anger, it was as if the Joker had just popped up for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Dick watched, a secret smile playing on his face. Unlike normal people, Dick was trained to zero his hearing in on a person, place, or object if so required. And, unlike normal people, Dick trained himself to zero in on people's voices immediately.

"Sorry Snape," Dick peeped, the man turning to him with a look that asked 'can-you-stop-breathing'. "Just saying," Dick chuckled softly, moving back to his plate of food.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian sat fuming against the trunk of an old, aging tree in the Forbidden Forest. His knees were drawn to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs as he glared at the air.

"Stupid weaklings," he whispered to himself as he gritted his teeth. As if they even knew the very power the title 'bat' gave someone. Of course they wouldn't – they were close-minded weaklings who relied on pieces of trees for help.

A quiet sound caught Damian's attention. Looking down, Damian's eyes landed on the black mass moving closer to him. Staring, the black bundle inched closer, green eyes peeking out from the black form.

Damian stared, his head swerving as he looked to see if any students were wandering the area. Seeing none, he reached his hands out for the bundle, a rumbling noise emitting from the black mass.

"Mew," the small black kitten peeped, a pink paw coming to pat Damian on the face as he held the cat up close. Damian stared.

"What are you doing here?" Damian questioned to himself, setting the kitten on his lap. The kitten purred, walking in a circle on the boy's lap before laying down. Staring up at him, the feline mewed again.

"Make a new friend?"

Dick blinked at the knife digging into the bark of the tree by his head, a chuckle escaping his throat as he swayed over to sit down beside the boy, looking at the kitten.

"Shut up Grayson," Damian sneered, glaring down at the kitten who now seemed to be interested at Grayson. Jumping from Damian to Grayson, the kitten purred into Grayson's hand.

"What's his name?" Dick asked, smiling as he petted the kitten behind the ear. Damian watched, suddenly reminded that the man before him grew up around animals. He probably loved this right now. Bruce always had a strict rule about animals in the manor, so Dick never got to have a pet during his years with the Bat.

"It's a female," Damian stated, "and why should I name the feline? I'm not keeping her." Dick looked him straight in the eye, an eyebrow raised.

"Damian," Dick started, "it's an abandoned kitten in the Forbidden Forest. You heard Headmaster Dumbledore. The forest is filled with monsters and beasts. The poor thing will die before the sun comes up if we don't take her. Come one, I can keep her in my quarters," Dick suggested, holding the kitten up to Damian's face. Another paw rested against his nose. Damian growled, snatching the female kitten from the adult's hand.

"Fine," Damian spat. "But I am not naming her!" Dick chuckled, ruffling his brother's hair. He looked to the kitten rubbing her face against Damian's neck, her black fur reminding the man of the darkness. Of the night.

"Lilitu," he stated softly. Damian stilled, looking to the man. Dick smiled.

"Lilitu. It means 'night' in Arabic, right? Why not that name? She's like the night sky," he chuckled and saw Damian turn his face away. Though just for a second, a tiny second, he caught a small smile on the child's face.

Lilitu mewed, her purrs the only sound filling the air.


	8. Interlude

**Reaper: **Hey, so this is a short little chapter I wrote up to celebrate this story hitting 100 reviews! Thanks guys! Like, serious! Thank you. You all are so amazing, it brings tears to my eyes whenever I think you guys actually like this story of mine. XD (if you haven't guessed already, I have no self-esteem for my stories). Anyways, this is an interlude chapter, if you will. Not really important to read or anything, just a little something to give to you guys. A lot of fluff in this chapter (along with some characters mentioned~). It isn't really important to the plot or anything, so don't worry about it. It's really short. Sorry. Also, I didn't go into depths for a lot of this chapter, only because I thought it'd be funner to leave it to you guys to imagine it. I mean, where's the fun if I write out everything. YEAH. WHATEVER.

**Warnings: **OOC, AU, random chapter that has nothing to do with plot. DAMIAN.

Enjoy~

* * *

><p>Winter was coming.<p>

Damian breathed out, puffs of fog swirling in the air. His face was practically covered with his red and yellow stripped scarf, his nose and ears tinting red. His cheeks were flushed, his blue eyes standing out as he hunched close to keep calm. He was never particular fond of the cold, if only because it caused your body to randomly shake without you even being really chilled.

"Are you doing anything for Christmas break?" Hermione asked him as she settled down beside him on the grass, looking out at the grey sky. Damian's eyes flickered to her before turning back to the lake, which looked black and murky.

"Why do you want to know?" Damian spat out, watching as more air puffed into the sky. Hermione huffed, her cheeks and nose red as she moved her eyes from the sky to stare at the boy.

"Harry and Ron are staying here for the break. Are you staying here or leaving for home?" Hermione asked again, Damian's eyes narrowing at the question. Why should she care if he stayed or went home?

"It depends on what Grayson wants to do. I have to follow him around," Damian bitterly muttered, glaring at the cold air. Hermione nodded, understanding (or as much as she could). She stood up, brushing off the grass and dirt that clung to her schooling robes. She looked down to Damian, holding a hand out.

"Want to go back to the castle?" Hermione asked, waiting patiently for the boy to reply. Damian snorted at her offered hand and stood up without her help, moving around her with easy back towards the castle. Hermione huffed, her eyes narrowing on the boy's retreating form as he left.

"He's like a cat that'll only let you pet once in a blue moon," Hermione muttered to herself, shaking her head as she followed after the boy.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Plans for the break? I thought we could go back to Gotham from the Christmas break and see Alfred and Tim," Dick commented as Damian hung back after his class, staring at his partner with a bored expression.

"Why must we visit Drake?" Damian asked with narrowed eyed, a frown marring his face. Dick sent him a warning look as he set his books straight and put his padded guards in their boxes.

"Because he's family," Dick answered. Damian snorted, moving to help the man with cleaning the room. Setting the chairs down from the desks, he spoke.

"He's your family. He is nothing but a busy-body boy-next-door." Dick shot a glare to the younger boy, his fists clenching as he absent-mindedly threw the pads loudly into the boxes.

"Damian," Dick warned, "what have I said about belittling Tim like that? He's a nice guy!" Dick continued on, pointing out Tim's good points. Damian's eye twitched as he droned the man out, instead letting his mind drift to his newest source of attention – Lilitu. Lilitu, the newest member of the Bat family (not that Damian would ever admit it out loud) continued to amaze the assassin-raised child. Lilitu wasn't what Damian expected from a cat. In a sense, Lilitu was like Damian. Kept to herself, minded her own business, and didn't whine for attention. Sure, she had her moments of waking Damian up at night with her mews and paw-patting, but nothing overly dramatic like when the owner and pet first met.

"Are you listening?" Dick asked, breaking Damian out of his musing. Damian turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, his lips pulled into a straight line.

"No," the boy stated, "care to repeat that?" Dick groaned and shook his head, turning his back to the boy. Damian watched the man for a second before turning his head away.

"Are we just going to see Pennyworth and Drake?" Damian asked, keeping his eyes on the boxes in front of him. Dick stopped shifting through his papers, his eyes sweeping over to the boy.

"Maybe. I was thinking of see Babs and maybe even try to find Jason," the bat spoke. Damian bristled at the mention of the ex-bird.

"Why go seek Todd? It's pointless," Damian spat. Dick chuckled softly.

"A lot of things are pointless, Damian. I just happen to be one of those men who like to succeed at pointless things. Visiting _all _of my family is one of them," Dick answered, his tone softening. Damian furrowed his eyebrows, refusing to look at the man.

"It's pointless," he repeated in a hushed whisper.

Dick didn't answer.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"On the count of three, we attack," Dick whispered, crouched down against a tree. His back was pressed against the dark bark, his head turned slightly to look over the side of the tree. Above him, in the trees, sat Damian, perched waiting with narrowed eyes.

Damian looked to the sky, his blue eyes taking in the snow falling from the grey sky. The white flakes, so pure and blood-freezing cold, fluttered down softly like dancers dipping in a graceful dance. His eyes followed as they met and merged with the piling clumps of white, his nose and cheeks flushed as he huffed out visible puffs of air.

"Ready?"

Turning his gaze, Damian nodded slowly to Dick. His gaze lifted to see tuffs of red hiding behind white hills and bundles, a shark-like smirk tugging on the child's lips.

"Ready," the boy growled out. Dick smiled to himself as he flashed out of his hiding spot, rushing forward, Bending forward as he rushed, he let out a rather annoying holler, flinging his arm forward as a head popped up bewildered from behind one of the white mounds.

SPLAT.

Ron reeled backwards with a cry as the snow hit his face directly, his hands flashing up to his cheeks to flail the cold ice off. Dick chuckled loudly, only to squeak as snow balls shot towards him. Dodging, he scooped up more snow, flinging towards Ron's twin brothers, George and Fred. Both boys cried out as they were hit in the back of the necks, results from running after assaulting the teacher.

Hermione shot up from her kneeling position, throwing her bundle of snowballs towards the man. Before they could hit, however, rocks collided with the balls, breaking them apart. Looking behind him, Dick met eyes with Damian, who was marching towards them, his figure shaking slightly.

"Retreat!" They heard Fred and George cry at the sight of the boy's dark, murderous face. Damian growled, stopping beside Dick, who was sighing.

"Damian," Dick sighed and placed a hand on the boy's head, "you are supposed to throw snow balls at them, not rocks." Damian slapped the hand off and bent down, taking in a handful of snow. Molding it into a ball, he smashed it directly into Dick's face. The battlefield went silent.

"I do know the rules of a snow ball fight, Grayson," Damian snorted and smirked as Dick wiped the snow off, glaring down at his younger brother.

"I switch sides!" Dick proclaimed loudly and grabbed Damian around the waist, hauling him off the ground. Spinning around while still holding the protesting child, he let go, sending the boy tumbling in the snow. Bursting out laughing, he allowed the Golden trio to begin pelting Damian. Damian cried out in rage and shot up, charging whilethrowing his own snow bullets.

The war was on.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Have fun," Harry sent off, waving to the two as he and Ron sat at the Gryffindor table. Dick and Damian bid their good-byes (or more like Dick smiled and waved while Damian huffed and crossed his arms) and left the castle, heading to the trains to head home.

Sitting on the trains back to the normal realm, Dick looked to his younger brother.

"This year's going to be so different," Dick whispered softly, his eyebrows scrunching up as a wincing smile formed on his face. Damian, staring out the window, said nothing.

The reflection of Dick's falling smile could be seen from the window.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Alfred!" Dick cried out as he threw his arms around the aging man, who smiled and hugged back (though softer). Damian stood at the doorway, kicking off his snow-covered shoes. Tim and Kon-El stood awkwardly at the staircase base, watching Dick blabber on to the man about how the school used spells and house elves to cook.

"Isn't there, like, some law about forbidding you guys talking about magic?" Tim asked, warily watching Damian as he stormed his way up the stairs, grumbling something about 'owls' and 'bloody birds'. Tim's eyes widened at the sight of a fluffy black ball popping out of Damian's hood, green eyes staring back at the boy.

"Was…was that a _cat? _You got that demon a cat? Are you insane?" Tim cried out, following his brother and Alfred into the kitchen, Kon-El towing behind silently.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

When Dick and Damian came back from their winter break, they were met with wide eyes and parted lips. Covered head to toe in bandages and bruises, the two ignored the on lookers and separated to their groups.

"What happened?" Hermione asked in concern, her eyebrows pinched up. Damian snorted and crossed his eyes, his eyes burning holes in the table top.

"Clowns and zombies," Damian hissed under his breath. Hermione raised an eyebrow in confusion before dropping the subject, instead turning her attention to her two best friends.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Sorry about the whole thing with Jason, Tim. I didn't think he'd actually try to start a fire in the dining room," Dick spoke into his communicator, chuckling to himself as he sat down on his bed.

"_It's fine…I guess. Just, you okay? I mean, the Joker did do a good job on your guys this last time. Anyone question you?" _Tim's voice asked from the device. Dick looked to his body-length mirror and grimaced at the sight of him – all black and blue (which were ironically his Nightwing colors).

"Nah, not much. Just told them we got involved in a bank robbery. I explained Gotham's crime record," Dick spoke and rolled his eyes at the memory of having to explain the whole history of Gotham to the information-hungry witches and wizards. They always seemed to want to know what Gotham was like or if it was as amazing as the America-visited students said it was.

"_That's good. Hey, is it odd? This had been the first time in a while that the Joker appeared. I think he's planning something. Want us to watch out for anything?" _Tim asked and you heard the sound of papers rustling.

"Sure," Dick chirped, "but if the Joker appears again, don't be afraid to call me. I know how troublesome he can be." Dick bid his farewells and cut the link, laying down.

Sighing, he closed his eyes.


	9. Prikaza y Athinganoi

**Reaper: **EEEEER. YEAH. THIS CHAPTER. THIS CHAPTER IS KIND OF FUCKED UP. Please, please. I wanted to start putting the plot in gear BUT THERE WAS ONE THING I wanted to do before I began to delve into the plot (the one thing being at the end of the story). So yeah. Consider this the last chapter of random shit. Seriously. Anyways, a few things in this chapter. First, heritage. Dick Grayson is half-Romani, something I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. Why? It makes interesting information to write on. LOL. So yeah. I played a lot with that fact in this chapter. Sorry.

**JannaKalderash** How right you are~

**MeganVL** LOL. I remembered her eye color this time! XD I don't know why I keep thinking blue...maybe because Dick and Damian had black hair and blue eyes? Anyways, thank you so much for always reviewing!

**DeathwishJV **Fluff. Fluff. Fluff. I try the fluff and some how end up centering Dick and Damian. What. ANYWAYS. I tried to show Damian's roommates in this chapter. Also, yes, 5th year is the Order of the Phoenix. Thank you so much for always reviewing~!

**Hount-Walf **Them being grumpy and possessive is a fun thing~ Thank you for the review! 3

**BINthere **Right now Dick IS Batman. Damian is his little Robin. -pats Robin's head- thank you for reviewing~!

**Stevie.x **Damian, a parselmouth? Interesting. But then I'd have to explain how Damian is connected to Salazar Slytherin to explain why he can speak to snakes...I AM TOO LAZY FOR THAT! LOL. But thanks for the suggestion~ Thank you for reviewing!

**Your Local Cow **Sorry, it was Snape giving the look to Dick. And I love your dramatic cry in the beginning of your review. I could only think of 'KHAAAAAAAAAAAN' for some reason. LOL! Thanks for the review~! 3

**MichaelaTheUchiha **: D -hugs- OMG, your review made me laugh. Especially the whole 'punch them the face or sic Damian on them' thing. Damian, I CHOOSE YOU! Also, I've only ready the New 52s and a few of the comics when Dick's Batman, so I don't know their characters that well. Same with Harry Potter. Going off the movies, the first three books, and the wiki. -.-' BUT THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW~!

**Silver Cherry Blossom**

**Fragile as a Feather **Your English is perfect, stop it! And thank you for the review! : D Apparently people keep saying I'm reading their minds or stealing their dreams for a fanfic like this. LOL. I don't try too! But I find it funny when I 'steal' someone's day-dream wish.

**willyfreak26**

**MeganVL **3 As said before~ Great Minds think alike.

**Cunningham0208487 **I hope this is soon enough! : D

**FifthDayOfMay **I'm glad you enjoyed the Interlude chapter! : D Thanks for the review~!

**Warnings: **Mentions of death, slightly detailed sentences of gore ( not to bad, I hope...), Umrbidge, DAMIAN, Au-ish, OOC, probably a lot of mistakes because I am writing this at 4 in the morning (dies), Angst, random chapter.

I'd to point out that Harley Quinn is in this chapter (SORRY FOR THE SPOILER). But yeah. Her character is extremely interesting to write and I kinda fucked her up and twisted her character inside out on the last section. Why? Because she's a doctor. (Doctor Who music plays)...now I know I am lacking sleep.

**Prikaza y Athinganoi **Bad Omen and Danger (Romany/Romani)

* * *

><p>"Think this is safe?" A voice hushed out into the darkness of an abandoned classroom. A group of green and black clothed boys huddled together in the corner, surrounding a wooden crate that was shaking ever so lightly. The tallest of the group snorted.<p>

"I don't see why not. We won't be anywhere near the git when he gets his present. Knowing the mud-blood, he'll probably open it blindly. Won't he be in for a surprise," the boy sneered out with a dark smirk stretching across his face.

"But what if that muggle teacher finds out we did it?" Another boy asked softly, eyes wide in horror at the thought. The rest of the boys shifted at the sudden thought.

"He won't. There is no proof. He can't use spells and I don't think the teachers will look too closely into this. It's a solid-proof plan. Nothing to fear," the leader snapped, glaring.

Outside the door, a pink-clad frog hobbled away.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Damian sat up from his bed, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Around him, a few straggling first year boys sat up as well, yawning. It was one of the rare days when Damian could actually sleep in, not having to wake up at the crack of dawn with Grayson.

"Mornin'," one of the first years, Joshua, spoke to his fellow dorm roomies. Damian casted the boy a glare, wondering when they'd realize that he wasn't going to be friends with him.

"Damian, you going to breakfast soon?" Charlie, the second shortest boy in their dorm (Damian being the first), asked as he popped up beside Damian's bed post. Damian growled.

"No," Damian spat, "I am going to starve. Of course I am heading to breakfast, you twit. Now leave before my fists decide to introduce themselves to your face." Charlie chuckled, smiling light heartedly to the boy. Obviously he wasn't afraid of the boy.

"You can't scare me," Charlie chuckled, "I have two older brothers who used to make it their pass time to beat me up." Damian stared at him blankly.

"You're words don't affect me. I have two older brothers who used to be my enemy," Damian stated deadpan and shot up past the confused looking boy. Charlie dashed after him, the rest of the dorm staring after with shaking heads.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Moring," Hermione piped the moment Damian settled down a little ways away from the Golden Trio. Damian grunted, his plate immediately filling with food. Today, it was fruit. Hermione stopped to stare at his plate, blinking at the sight of no sausage or bacon.

"You aren't eating meat this morning?" Hermione questioned, cutting her links up. Damian stopped eating, his eyes moving from his plate of grapefruit to the girl.

"I'm a vegetarian," Damian spoke and Ron's fork slipped from his fingers. Harry and Hermione paused from eating, their eyebrows rising as they regarded the boy before them.

"Since when?" Both asked, food dropping from Ron's gaping mouth. Damian ignored them, instead pouring sugar on his sour, citrus produce.

"Since winter break. I even have a pet cow now," Damian spoke, thinking of the Bat-Cow he had collected during the Christmas season. The Golden Trio fell into confused, awkward silence.

"Alright then," Hermione spoke after a beat, deciding to ignore the conversation they just had. Damian shrugged his shoulders and began to eat, his face scrunching up at the bitter taste. No amount of sugar would ever make grapefruit any more appetizing. Pushing the fruit to the edge of his plate, he started on his smaller plate of berries. Great way to start the day.

"Did you hear? Apparently a Boggart was seen around the castle during the break," a random Hufflepuff student gushed as two badgers walked past the four lions. Damian's eyebrow rose at the mention of the _Boggart._

"What is this Boggart the weakling was speaking of?" Damian questioned, turning his attention to Hermione, who looked up from one of her books she had pulled out during the period of breakfast. Hermione smiled at the free moment to share her knowledge.

"A Boggart is a magical creature that transforms into your greatest fear," Hermione explained. "Back in third year, Professor Lupin, our DADA teacher at the time, had us all face against a Boggart. When it was Ron's time to face the Boggart, it changed into a huge spider. Ron is deathly afraid of spiders."

Damian snorted, Ron flushing at the memory. "Hey no," the ginger cried out, "spiders are scary! They are seriously evil, y'know Harry and I encountered a gigantic one back in second year!" Damian blinked owlishly and looked at the three of them, his eyes narrowing at Ron and Harry.

"You expect me to believe _you _two encountered a gigantic spider and _lived_? I don't believe you could do so," Damian stated, Harry and Ron glaring at him. Before Hermione could open her mouth to defend her brothers (in all but blood), the two boys burst out their arguments, retelling past adventures and life-risking tales. Damian sat through the whole thing, his face non-changing from the bored expression.

"So, still think we can't take care of ourselves?" Ron asked smugly, smirking cockily. Damian slowly blinked, before moving back to his berries.

"You wouldn't last a second in Gotham, magic or not. You'd be killed in a snap of the finger," Damian stated and Ron opening glared, his teeth gritting and his ears reddening.

"Alright you self-righteous git! Show me what you can do!" Ron hollered, catching the attention of those close to them. Hermione voiced her disagreement loudly as Damian shot an arm out, grabbing Ron by the throat. Ron choked and Hermione yelled for the boy to let go.

"I will commend you for your vocabulary and word choice. Self-righteous. How flattering. But I will not allow you to degrade me when all I am stating are the facts. Gotham isn't what you'd think it is. You think fighting murderous, insane zombies, three-headed dogs, werewolves, spiders, and those demon-things are tough? Where I am from, that'd be a childish training session. You have your challenges, I have mine. I was raised with life-risking dangers at every step. Did you ever eat dinner with your family, internally wondering if that night's food was poisoned? Did you have to _fight _the woman you call your biological mother because she wanted you _dead_?" Damian hissed out, his grip tightening.

"Gotham, or even America, isn't like this magic-bubbled society you've grown up in. Take a step outside of the magic realm and see what reality is like. It isn't all flying brooms and talking paintings. It's blood, death, murder, poison, _drugs_ – things you probably could never comprehend. Before you go calling me a self-righteous git, think of things from my perspective." The hand squeezing the air out of Ron's lungs disappeared, Damian stomping off towards the doors. Ron gasped in great intakes of oxygen, his eyes wide as every student watched the boy slam the towering door shut. Dick coughed from his seat at the Teacher's table and stood up, placing his napkin on the table as he excused himself.

Moving calmly after Damian, he ignored the gawking students as he slipped out of the Great Hall. He stalked down the halls, his eyes trained on the boy who was all but speed-walking down the corridors, his shoulders tense and dark curses flowing from his mouth at a rapid speed.

"Damian. Dami. Lil' D. Brother. Robin. _Damian Al Ghul Wayne_," Dick called out, both males stopping. Damian rounded on Dick, who was in arms distance now, and grabbed hold of the man's schooling robes.

"What," the boy spat out, his eyes glowing in rage, "did you just call me?" Dick touched Damian's hand, making the boy let go quickly.

"Sorry, it's just you weren't listening and…" Dick trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Damian glared.

"Don't _ever c_all me that. I am Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne, son of Batman, partner of Batman. I am no longer connected to the Al Ghuls, even if their blood still runs in me," Damian whispered, looking down. Dick frowned, moving a hand to ruffle the boy's hair.

"Sorry Damian. My mistake. Won't happen again," the older man whispered, Damian "TT"ing as he smacked Dick's hand off his head.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

The Great Hall was silent. No one spoke. The tables were cleared, the student as still as stone – nothing seemed to be active.

Dolores Umbridge sat in the place that Albus Dumbledore had previously occupied, a tight-lip smirk on her face. Her arms were folded neatly in front of her, resting on her blubbering thighs, and her legs were crossed like a proper lady was taught to do. The other professors looked at her warily, Dick being the only one to outright glare at her. Out of nowhere this woman had come and stated that she was now the Headmistress of Hogwarts, the Ministry backing her up.

What in the name of Merlin was that Ministry thinking, letting such a sadistic woman take the place of Headmaster? Were they trying to let her kill every student in the whole school?

At the Gryffindor table, Avada Kerdavra green eyes swirling with determination.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Green eyes peered up at Dick, soft purrs rumbling from Lilitu's throat as she continued to bear holes into the man's form. Her ears fell flat and she moved to the corner of the room, curling into a ball. Dick, skipping lunch, was in his room. Lilitu, who stayed with Dick during the days, had finally given up trying to get the Gypsy's attention.

Dick blinked and looked up from his papers (papers which the students wrote about how magic and hand-to-hand combat could and could not work together) and turned his eyes to the sulking kitten.

"_Manch, Machka," _he spoke, the native tongue slipping out without him realizing. He frowned after realizing what he had said.

"What language is that?"

Dick jumped, turning to the door to see Damian, Harry, Hermione, and Luna standing there. Luna seemed to be the one who spoke, since she was staring at him patiently. Though Hermione could have also been the one to question him, since she looked like she was going to pee with how active she was shifting.

"Romani. You know, Gypsies. Steal your clothes, dance seductively? Always stealing the hearts of hunch-backs?" Dick quirked, Harry and Hermione's lips twitching at the movie reference. Luna blinked owlishly.

"You haven't happened to be helping the Nargels steal my shoes, would you?" Luna asked, Harry flashing a concerned look. Dick was the one to blink owlishly, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh…no," he spoke and Damian snorted, moving to the corner to pick up his cat. Hermione instantly cooed over the black kitten and rushed over to pet the little feline, commenting how she was much cuter than her lazy, fat fur ball.

"What did you say to her?" Harry asked as Luna moved to pet Lilitu as well. Dick looked to the teen, regarding him silently.

"Cheery up, cat," Dick answered, explaining how the kitten was sulking. Damian 'Tt'ed at the story while Harry quirked a smile.

"So, why did you come to visit me?" Dick asked, seeing as it was uncommon for the teens to visit his room. Only Damian did that.

"Well sir, actually….we want….we want to start a secret little club…no, not a club. An army. Dumbledore's Army. To protect ourselves; to protect others. Trouble is brewing. We can feel it. With Umbridge in power, we won't learn a thing. This is why we're planning to create a little secret 'club' of sorts, to gather and learn from each other. To strengthen and grow. And we want you and Damian to help us. Teach us more advance techniques of self-defense," Harry explained, Hermione chiming in with information when she though Harry was lacking on certain points. Dick stared at them silently, his eyes casting to Damian, who was looking at Lilitu.

"Damian, your thoughts?" Dick asked, leaning his elbows on his knees as he linked his fingers together under his nose. He stared directly to his younger brother, who looked up to meet his burning gaze.

"They have proven they want to protect others. They aren't using it for their own selfishness. I have agreed to help them," Damian spoke and then faltered, "but-but only because Father would have done the same thing." Dick smiled sadly behind his hands, an expression that was easily caught by the three older students.

"Yeah, Dad would do the same, huh? Sure, count me in. Just, give me the details on _everything," _Dick explained and Harry sent him a grateful smile, closing the door as the children began to lay out their entire plan and ideas to the man.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

It was small, maybe the side of a shoe box. It wasn't too tall either, from what he could tell. Cautiously poking at the box with his wand, he waited for a reaction. Nothing. Damian glared at the wooden crate as he looked at it. Nothing looked off about it. No sounds were coming from it either. It was just a simple bo-

Instantly, a wave of murderous intent crashed into the boy. Damian jumped away from the box, his eyes wide as he looked to the object. He could feel the tendrils of magic curling and gripping at thin air around the box, hoarse wails echoing in the room. Damian shot a concealed bird-a-rang towards the box, seeing it begin to shake and jerk in place.

Something was in there. Something dark. Picking up the box, he descended the staircase leasing out of the Gryffindor tower.

Pacing down the halls, students made way for the boy, their eyes landing on the box tucked under his arm. Why was he carrying a box?

Damian threw the doors open to the Great Hall, the noise softening as he stormed towards Umbridge, who was still looking smug in her high chair. Throwing the box down, he glared.

"What," he spat as he pointed to the box, "is this?"

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Smoke rose from the chimney, people bustling outside the January air, scarves tied tight and eyes on the floor. They bumped into shoulders, murmurs of apologizes sounding every so often in the bleeding soundtrack of life. A young woman, blond hair pulled into a messy bun and blue eyes hidden behind thick layers of mascara and eye shadow, hummed loudly as she skipped down the street.

Literally skipped.

Her body was covered in a long wool coat, holed tights covering her pale flesh and combat boots nudging people as she made her way down the sidewalk.

"'Cuse me, 'cuse me, comin' through. Make way," the girl blabber out as she elbowed past people, sneering at them when they cried out at her. Without so much as looking the young woman walked into the street, cars screeching to stops and drivers hollering out of their windows with shaking fists. The woman seemed to not notice them, her head twisting this way and that as her eyes scrunched up, her tongue poking out from between her black lips.

"Jeez, puddin' sure did hafta make this place hidden, huh?" The girl muttered to herself, stepping up on the curb. Shoving past people, she dug a wool-made fingerless glove into her pocket, producing a crumbled up piece of paper.

Unfolding the paper, her eyes skimmed the contents before she looked back to the street signs.

"Madame Quinn, I presume?" A velvet like voice asked from the woman's right. Looking in the direction, the woman was met with the sight of a man, blond hair slicked back in a ribbon-tied pony-tail and grey eyes glaring into her form.

"Heya mistah! Yah must be the welcoming committee, right? Did my puddin' cake send ya?" The girl chirped, her eyes going dreamy for a second as a deep sigh left her. The man stared back at her dryly, tugging on his crisp back suit.

"I was sent by My Lord to collect you. Your…lover, Joker as you call him, is already there and waiting for you," the man informed, looking at the woman's less than formal apparel. Was she not informed to dress formally?

"Somethin' wrong?" The woman asked, tilting her head to the side as she placed her hands on her hips, her eyes bore into the man, offended that he'd look her over.

"I trust you have a spare change of clothing," the man commented to himself and turned, not waiting to see if the woman was following him or not. Judging by the annoyingly loud humming behind him, she was.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Umbridge stared at the child, her eyes sliding to the boy. They sparked softly with recognition.

"Why, it's a box. You muggle-born know what a box is, don't you?" Umbridge asked slowly, as if talking to a dog. Damian growled, glaring. Dick, from his place at the teacher's table, looked up from his goblet of pumpkin juice, his face slack. Snape sent him a side glance, a sneer already on his lips.

"You should learn to keep your beasts on leashes," the potion master commented, Dick snorting into his goblet. He flashed the man a smile, his eyes cold.

"I will, once you learn to install a heater in your body. I don't think your heart likes being locked in a meat-locker," Dick shot back. Snape stared, processing the muggle terms. His mouth opened before closing again, wondering if he should point out the stupidity in the sentences the man beside him just spoke.

Dick blinked before his ears went red.

"I mean- wait, that came out wrong. Two different insults – I just got them mixed up and-" Dick cut off, his eyes instantly flashing to the box. A dangerous, dark, sinister aura was pouring from the box. If Dick could see auras, he'd be sure the box would be covered pitch black.

"Do you feel that?" Dick asked softly to Snape, who had also turned his attention to the box. Snape stared, his fists clenching on his lap. Yes he did.

That box was holding something. Something that shouldn't be in the school. At least, it shouldn't be anymore. There was that session in third year but….

The box shook and rattled, the sides expanding like rubber as whatever was inside tried to burst out. Damian jumped backwards, grabbing a knife from one of the closest tables, his eyes narrowed. Umbridge raised a stubby eyebrow as the box burst into pieces, a black fog shooting out and wrapping around Damian.

The fog detached itself from the boy before settling down in front of him, twisting and swirling into solid matter. Damian paled as the black fog shifted into 7 figures.

"_La_," Damian whispered in horror, his face scrunching up as his eyes crinkled up, the blue hue darkening at the sight before him.

The students shot up, teachers moving in time just as the fog changed. There stood Damian, dressed in a black and white outfit. A woman was gripping his shoulder tightly, dressed in a dress that showed too much. Beneath them were the corpses of people dressed up in funny looking clothing. They saw blond hair, two people dressed like bats, a white-haired elderly man, and a man wearing a black face mask on the ground, dead.

"_Walad motee'e,"_ the woman holding onto Damian spoke. The rest Damian stood opposite from the scene, his body trembling.

"_BATAL!" _Damian roared, the scene and the figures faltering slightly as everyone it the room felt the temperature drop. Dick was out of his seat in a second, pulling the boy behind him as if to protect him.

The figures of Damian and the woman shifted. The woman was replaced with the sobbing figure of Dick, the figure of Damian spitting up blood, its bones cracking and tearing through its flesh before tumbling to the stone flooring in a broken heap. The bodies that were previously underneath the Damian and Talia look-a-likes shifted. A man, took the place of one of the Bat-suit corpses, the shorter looking Bat-suit body disappearing. The blond haired female shifted, their mask appearing. The body with the black mask shifted to show a young looking black haired boy, their eyes open to show soulless glassy blue eyes. A man with brown hair and white bangs joined in, their arms and legs bent in awkward angles.

Laying on top of the pile of dead were two people, their eyes open and their hands barely touching. Black hair spilled over the dead woman's body, her glossy green eyes staring directly at Dick, blood painted on her like a gown of death. The man, lying beside her all bent and broken, was staring directly at Dick with glossy dark blue eyes. His black hair was ruffled and coated in blood. Both adults wore outfits with 'G' covering the front.

"_A-Atch,"_ Dick whispered, his blue eyes wide as the dead bodies began to twitch and move, the sounds of bones snapping and blood squirting filling the Hall. The students could only stare in horror as the bodies began to grab at Dick, wailing that it was his fault. Damian moved forward to pull the man back, only to freeze when three powerful voices boomed, "RIDDIKULUS!"

The Boggart shrieked out in pain, letting go of Dick as the bodies shifted shrunk back, hisses echoing.

Luna, Harry, and Hermione stood up from their tables, wands out and faces set in deep, dark frowns. Dick shook as he raised a hand to his face, his eyes still wide. Damian didn't speak, his gaze glued to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Minerva spoke, swiping her wand over the Boggart, with transfigured into a glass cat. Picking the cat up and handing it to Snape, she turned to the two with a deep frown set on her face. It was bad to see a child have such a Boggart, but for a man to have a similar one? What kind of work did they do in America to fear their loved ones (she was assuming) dying?

"_Kek_," Dick muttered, stumbling as he rushed out of the Hall. The audience (since they sure felt like one) turned to Damian, only to see him missing.

Harry and Hermione shared looks before rushing to the doors, Ron and Luna following after. None of them minded Umbridge hollering for them to return to their tables.

As all this went on, Severus kept his gaze on his snakes, watching how a few seventh years snickered darkly to themselves.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Lilitu mewed softly, her head titled to the side as she stared at her two owners. They were huddled together, gripping tightly at each other as they sat in silence. Damian was complaining about sitting in Dick's lap – not right not. Not after what just happened. Not only did the whole school population see their darkest fears, Dick's triggered unwanted memories.

Dick buried his head further into Damian's shoulder, his form shaking as he suppressed tears. Damian had his arms wrapped around the boy's neck, his chin resting on the bony shoulder of the older man. Lilitu mewed once more, her volume increasing as she realized she was being ignored.

"Silence," Damian snapped out, Lilitu stopping as she felt the emotions rolling off the boy. She perked up at the sound of the door knocking.

"Professor, are you in there?" Harry's soft question sounded. Dick sniffled loudly and shook his head, gripping Damian tighter. Damian snorted.

"Leave," Damian spoke loudly. "Your presence is unwanted."

"Um," Hermione spoke out, "if you want to talk about it, we're here. I mean, we've all encountered a Boggart before so we know what you are going through and-"

"Shut your mouth, you idiotic harlot! You don't know a thing we are experiencing. Unlike you lot, we don't have average fears," Damian spat out, his grip on Dick's neck tightening at the infuriating teenagers outside the door. He pulled back from Dick's hold and plopped down so his back was against Dick's back. Dick hugged him, staring into nothing. His eyes were a murky blue, the flesh around the lips puffy and red.

"Just remember we are here," Luna's voice said and they heard footsteps sound down the hall.

"If Bruce could see us now, he'd probably be so disappointed," Dick whispered to himself. Damian clicked his tongue and stretched his legs out, forcing Dick to do the same.

"No," the boy spoke, "Father would most likely react the same if he were in our position. Unlike the normal hallucinogenic or mind powers, magic touches the senses and becomes real. That Boggart brought out fears to life. What we saw, what they were – it was real. So Father would probably react the same, since I know all of use share similar fears," Damian stated and Dick chuckled softly.

"I guess," the bird-turned-bat whispered and laid down, pulling Damian with him.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Who's the pirate lookin' fellah?" The woman asked, her black lipstick now replaced with a crimson red. Her blond hair, which had earlier been in a messy bun, was now down and spilling over the one side of her shoulder. She wore a simple black dress, her eyes looking to the man in distain. Where was her baby?

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Harleen Quinzel," the man spoke, his Middle Eastern thick. His eyes glared down at the woman, who instantly straightened up, her blue eyes sharpening.

"As it is mine, sir. Sadly, I don't recall every introducing myself to you. I don't see it fair to have my name be known but not know yours," Harleen spoke, her accent dropping as she realized that this man was sane enough to not act like a ditzy, 50s mobster girl. The man smirked, nodding his head to her.

"I see your reputation precedes you. It's a shame you left the medical field. The world could use more talented women like you. But, allow me to introduce myself," the man spoke and stepped forward just as the Joker slipped out of the shadows, talking to some person wearing a skull mask.

"I am Ra's Al Ghul," the name echoed, "and I shall be working with you for the time being."

* * *

><p><strong>Batal<strong> : Stop it in Arabic

**La**: no in Arabic

**walad motee'e** : Good boy in Arabic

**Atch** : Stop in Romani/Romany

**Kek** : No in Romany

** post /8939815770/damian-waynes-greatest-fear **this is the link that inspired Damian's scene with the Boggart. I love that scene ~! (I am talking about the comic book, not the scene in the fanfic)

- /jahavra

- wiki. answers Q/How_do_you_say_good_boy_in_Arabic

- . si/~eusmith/Romany/

REMOVE SPACES. The above links were what I used for the foreign words.


	10. Tip the Hourglass EDITED

**_ EDITED: SEPTEMBER 19, 2012._**

**Reaper: **HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT. FUCKING A MANS. I AM SO FUCKING SORRY. I REALLY DIDN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. I DIDN'T WANT TO HOLD OFF SO LONG LIKE LAST TIME. HOLY SHIT. I AM SO SORRY.

So this chapter is shit. SERIOUSLY. It is shit. I am just saying. I couldn't think of anything to write. I'm suffering writer's block. Badly. I can't even write anything for my Creative Writing class, so I am kind of failing that right now. LOL. Bu so extremely sorry for taking so long. I haven't had a lot of time to do shit. I have school, work, and now I am in the Academic UIL (writing, of course). So yeah. And I have writer's block. So that doesn't help.

I'd like to thank **EVERYONE** who reviewed, Favorited, followed, or just plain read this story.. I hope I can make it up to you beautiful just how grateful I am. Really. Also, thank you **geek179 **for your idea. It actually helped me move this chapter along. But yeah. Sorry guys.

Also, Brooke, as I know you'll read this (as you read ALL my ANs, as you'd informed me) I POSTED IT. I POSTED IT. THIS IS FOR YOU. FOR ALWAYS SAYING I SHOULD UPDATE IT BEFORE MY FANS KILL ME. lol. Love you sweetie. 3

**ENJOY.**

**EEEEEEENJOY. HOPEFULLY. OR NOT. OH WELL**

**_Special thank you to Robin-Is-Totally-Whelming for pointing out a huge mistake. I fixed it, sweetie. Thank you. _**

He tossed and turned, groans escaping his burning throat as his hands clawed at his forehead, his eyes screwed tight. His head jerked to the left and right, sweat sheets laying over his pale skin as the others in the room slowly awoke to his wounded whines.

The boy dreamed…

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Severus swallowed, looking at the guests from over his wine glass. His Lord was at the head of the table, staring with a raised eyebrow as the female, Madame Quinzel, gibbered to the man beside her, Joker. Every once in a while Joker would growl for Quinzel to be silent before eating a bit of his food. After a few moments of awkward silence from the odd couple, he'd ask that she'd continue.

Severus mentally compared Ms. Quinzel to his old schoolmate, Bellatrix. Bellatrix, who was ironically sitting across from the woman, was openly staring at her with wide, unfocused eyes.

"So, so, this guy, all big lookin' and dumb droolin', just stared at me on the train. What's a girl to do, havin' a man stare at her like that? What do you think Mistah J? Whatcha think I did?" Harley asked as she stabbed her knife into her steak, completely engrossed in her story-telling. From what the uncomfortable death eaters could conclude, she didn't have a pleasant trip to England.

"Harley," Joker growled out. Harley fell silent. Joker's hands, which were clenched tightly into fists, slowly loosened. Bellatrix stared.

"Whatcha lookin' at? See somethin'?" Harley snapped, noticing the witch's gaze. Bellatrix blinked before her head tilted to the side, a crooked smile forming on her lips.

"Look at the little girl, chirping like a bird. I wonder if you'd squawk like one too, when in pain," Bellatrix cooed, her hand rising slightly. Her wand was poised directly at Harley, who stared at her with a bemused eyebrow raised.

Click.

Bellatrix froze, a gun directly pressed against her forehead, right between her eyes. Joker glared at her, a frown on his face. Harley was smiling widely to Joker, squealing about how the clown loved her. The Death Eaters stiffened at the sight of the muggle weapon. Voldemort watched silently as Bellatrix went crossed eyed looking at the barrel.

"Look a' this, look a' this! He think a little tinker toy can hurt _me! _I was trained by My Lord, you filthy muggle! Don't think you can threaten me!" Bellatrix howled, shooting up. Her wand flashed up, the words slurring off her lips as she sent a cuse towards Harley. Harley tilted her chair back, using the falling chair to catapult herself into the air before landing in a crouch, her eyes glaring darkly at the woman.

BANG

"BANG!" were the words Bellatrix read from the white flag sticking out of the gun in the Joker's hold. The man leaned backwards, his laughter bouncing off the walls and echoing in peoples ears. Severus coughed into his closed fist, his eyes warily watching the clown couple.

"Now that- that was funny! Oh Harley, did you see her face? She almost looked as angry as the Bat when I killed his little birdie!" Joker laughed and doubled over, slapping the table. The Death Eaters let their eyes slid over to their Master, who was watching with a dark expression.

"Shut up!" Bellatrix shrieked, raising her wand once more.

"_Crucio_," Voldemort incanted, watching as the black hair woman fell onto her side, curling into a ball as small howls of pain escaped her. After taking the curse off her, he listened as broken, breathless giggles escaped the woman.

"Oh My Lord, I'm sorry. I'm sorry," the woman whispered as she sat up shakily, her face pale and her eyes glossy.

"Enough Bellatrix," Voldemort spoke, "you are ruining the dinner I spent so long planning." Bellatrix crawled into her seat and sat in silence, tremors shaking her frame. Joker and Harley looked at the two in curiosity, their eyes meeting.

Taking a seat as well, they turned their attention to the man at the other end of the table, who cleared his throat. Ra's Al Ghul, having been silent through the whole ordeal of dinner, let his gaze met Voldemort's.

"Now," Ra's spoke, "let us get down to business." The room went silent.

"I must say, what an interesting development. I mean, when has muggles and wizards ever worked together?" Ra's spoke coolly, looking to the Death Eaters. The shifted uncomfortable, the heated and stern gaze of the man burning into their forms. Unlike their master's glare that pierced their very magical cores, the stare of the muggle man (thought they were beginning to suspect he was magical) seemed to strip them of their powerful fronts and leave them weak with doubts and wordless fears of his strength.

The Death Eaters had, after subtly observing the man for a while, found that Ra's Al Ghul was a man who held himself with grace and hidden power. Though the man looked gentle and calm, he could probably break your neck with one hand. It didn't help that he was known for his '_fountain of youth'_, per say. None of the people in the room had any idea as to how old the man really was, and none of them felt like finding out.

"Social comments aside," Ra's spoke, his voice cutting through the minions' thoughts, "let us begin. As many of you know, or should know, there are a few things happening right now that involve all of us. Gentlemen, let us talk of history. The history we will be making."

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

The Grand Hall was some-what silence, awkward chatter and strained whispers swirling around the air. Ever since Umbridge began Headmaster, meal times were almost always silent. No student felt up to chattering. Well, besides the Slytherin table.

The doors burst open, a slightly winded seventh year Hufflepuff student gasping for breath as she stood at the entrance.

"Pro-Professor Grayson's standing at the top of the A-Astronomy Tower. He-he looks like he's going to jump…" The Hufflepuff stammered, suddenly aware of all the eyes on her. Damian slammed his hands on the wooden table, shooting from his chair with a 'Dammit Grayson' before storming out of the Grand Hall.

The students rushed after, nearly stampeding the poor seventh year to the stone floor.

Damian stormed down the hall, his voice heavy as he grumbled under his breath. He casted his eyes every direction, his pace quickening as he sped towards the direction of his idiotic guardian.

"Stupid Grayson," Damian growled to himself. "What is he thinking, getting on the highest tower in the campus…?" Damian stopped short, his mind clicking. Smacking his forehead, he spun on his heel, moving the opposite direction.

"It's too cold for this drama," he muttered to no one.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Dick looked down, calculating the drop from the tower to the ground. It wasn't as high as some of Gotham's buildings, but it was an impressive height. Leaning forward slightly, he let out a puff of breath as the wind whipped at his face, ruffling his hair and causing his eyes to close.

"It reminds me of when I was a child," Dick answered softly as he heard the faintest of footsteps.

"TT," Damian clicked out, his head snapping to the side as he plopped down next to the man. The students were huddling below them, yelling for them to get away from the edge. Dick opened his eyes and casted a side glance, blinking slightly in confusion at the red and yellow outfit his partner was donning.

"Why are you in costume?" Dick asked, moving a hand to trace the mask around the younger one's eyes. Damian kept still, his eyes trained on the ground.

"In case….in case you decided to go flying or something," Damian muttered, his ears and neck misted pink. Dick stared at him for a second before standing up in a jump. The students below gasped out in horror, afraid he'd tumble forward and to his death. Many seemed to forget they could use magic, if that were the case.

"Let's fly!" Dick exclaimed, throwing off his schooling robe. Rolling his sleeves up, he turned to wait impatiently for his ward to get up as well. Damian just stared, fingers tapping against his crossed arms. Of course. Of course.

Standing up, the boy watched as his older partner tugged his utility belt out of nowhere. Not wanting to question it, the boy merely looked to the beckoning students below.

"So weak and air-headed," he muttered to no one, Damian's blue eyes darkening slightly.

Feeling an arm slip around his shoulder, the boy closed his eyes and allowed the air to whip around him as they leaned forward.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Light bounced and shimmered against the black stone of the towering buildings, outlining gargoyles and steep ledges. The moon, the wicked highness of the dark sky, stood at the top of her throne, watching her sleeping children. Those awake beckoned to her insane songs of chaos, letting her voice of destruction grow with the echoes of screams and broken glass.

The curtains of a seemingly abandoned room fluttered. Curtains, soiled and devoured by rats and bugs alike, were closed off to the lunar pull of madness. Wooden floor boards were pulled up and stained with blood and other foul liquids, the wall's covering peeled back to reveal graffiti slurs. The room held only a small closet and a sofa, said sofa barely holding its stuffing. Black boots clunked against the floor, scuffing the heels as a figure fell heavily onto the abused seat.

The figure's eyes were hidden behind a dark red mask, their brown hair falling into their fall. White tuffs of bangs swept into his hidden eyes, gleaming like stardust. The figure fell back, his limbs sprawling out around him. In a matter of minutes, he was asleep. His right hand fell to the side, off the couch.

CLUNK.

A gun hit the floor, the man's fingers still curled tightly around the weapon.

"What do you – are you asleep?" A female's voice asked, a woman moving out of the hidden bathroom with only a robe covering her figure. The one on the couch made no noise.

"Word has it the Joker's been gone. Snuck out of Gotham," the woman spoke to the man as she moved to slump at the edge of the couch cushion. A snore sounded.

"Apparently the Joker and Harley Quinn were helped by some outside group. Said to be from some freaky British cult or something. Dressed in all black robes and silver skulls masks." The woman shuttered at the mental image. "Ra's Al Ghul was seen in an airport with these cultists. His reasons for being with them are currently unknown. Want me to get the boys' diggin'?" Green eyes flickered to the motionless man.

CLICK.

The girl stared straight ahead as the man lightly tapped the trigger with his index finger, said gun pressing harshly into the girl's temple. Humming she stood up, moving to the door. She turned, seeing the man watching her.

"Food's on the floor. Hope you like Chinese," she spoke before disappearing.

Once he was sure she was gone, the man shot off the couch. Shoving everything bothersome away from him (mostly loose pillows that were barely hanging on seams), he dug into his leather jacket. Producing a phone, he filled it open and dialed a number.

"…Harper, where did you say Grayson and that demon went?"

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"I can't believe some masked boy saved Professor Grayson before he hit the ground!" Ron burst out, a goofy smile stretching on his face. Damian looked to the stairwells as the Golden Trio trudging up, gossiping about Grayson's stupid act of comfort.

"What?" Damian asked, closing the book he had randomly opened. Hermione and the two boys shared looks before staring at Damian.

"Where were you? Professor Grayson fell off the Astronomy tower! Some masked boy saved him before he hit the ground but- You were reading?" Hermione cried out. Damian just stared before looking to his book cover.

"Tired," Damian mumbled before dropping his book onto the couch, moving to his dorm. The trio watched, their eyebrows knitted.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_Insanity. That was the only word he could use to describe the scene before him. Watching with unmoving eyes, Damian watched the scene of the boys, merely the age of seven or eight, dripping blood. The two children were cutting into each other's flesh, giggling and looking absolutely calm under the circumstance. _

_What is this, Damian thought to himself as he tried to look away from the scene. He couldn't. The scene shifted, melting and morphing into one of colors. Blacks, reds, blues, greens, they all slammed into Damian, causing black dots to scatter across his vision. Blinking away the hindrance, his breath caught in his throat._

_Standing in the middle of the white-walls scenery, was his mother. Holding a bleeding infant. Her eyes were cold as she bore down on the still, limp body, blood trailing down from the splatter marks along her lower face. She looked up and smirked, her shadow twisting into a tall, towering figure. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Damian shot up, his hand clenching his chest as he gasped for breath. He looked around to make sure no one had awoken and looked to his shaking hands. Clenching them, he closed his eyes and brought his fists to dig into his temples, his nostrils flaring as he sucked in as much air as possible.


	11. Dreams of the Come and Go Room

**Reaper: **So, I really have nothing to say about the VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY late update. Or the lack of length for this chapter. ; w ; bullshit excuses but I've been dealing with work (DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON WORK OH MY FUCKING GOD), School (gonna be a senior next year), looking into scholarships and college (I finally just decided what I want to do uuuuuu), driving (doing self-taught shit oh fucking god), had one of my first dogs die (he was a trooper), loose of inspiration, ideas, and muse (I am so fucking sorry), and life in general. But no, this chapter is very VERY VERY VERY short. I am sorry. I didn't want to drag it but I couldn't really think of what else to write.

If you can't tell, I didn't write this whole chapter in one sitting. I began writing this after last chapter but then I lost the file, forgot about it, got caught up and shit, and would slowly come back, write a paragraph or so, and then leave it. My current writing style isn't the best. I am sorry. D ;

Thank you everyone who's been patient. I am sorry you have to suffer with me. UnU

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

Her knees were covered in blotches of muddy shades of yellow and blue, results of crawling on her knees all day when stocking the lower shelves of their grocery store. The store, though local, was fairly small, having been built over a decade before. It was a miracle it was still standing.

Customers bustled down the aisles, barely sparing the girl on the floor any glances. The girl, tucking a curl of red hair behind her ear, allowed her green eyes to trail after each person, her eyelashes shading her gaze as she turned her attention to her pocket. Pulling her phone out, she studied the screen of her mobile with detached interest. Clicking the screen into a black front, she slipped her hand into her shirt fold.

"Alright dears," the girl proclaimed loudly, catching the attention of all those around. She pulled her hand out of her shirt, smirking as the curious gazes shifted into one of horror and alarm.

CLICK.

Molding her finger around the trigger of the sleek, slim gun, the girl smiled.

"My lovely man wants to give Gotham a BIG welcoming party," the girl stated, "so Imma gonna do just that."

BANG.

Footsteps sounded as the screaming started. People shoved past the pale male who walked towards the crazy gun wielding woman, a black cane tapping musically into the tile flooring as he paced closer and closer to the red staining floor. A smirk tugged on his pale cheeks, his teeth filed into sharp fangs. His yellow eyes lifted to look into green, the couple smirking.

"Joker's gone, Batman's gone…. Gotham sure is lookin' nice for the pickin, huh toots?" The man asked, leaning heavily on his cane. The girl laughed, bobbing her head as she aimlessly shot a bullet through an elderly woman's head.

"And I wanted to have a movie night tonight too," a voice grumbled out. The couple jumped and whirled to the entrance of the store, their eyes wide as their gazes fell on the large, towering shadow standing there.

The shorter of the two was glaring at them, or they assumed so, as they couldn't see past the slanted white holes covering his eyes. His whole head was covered in a black cloth, connecting to his neck, which branched into a cape. His suit, a body-molding cover of red and black, bore a bird symbol.

The boy next to him was tall and built like a body builder. His muscles bulged from under his tight black short sleeve shirt. Eyes were drawn to the red 'S' insignia on his shirt. It couldn't be….

"You must be new," the one in the mask snorted, glaring through the white patches covering his eyes. The criminal pair turned to each other with paling faces, their smiles faltering.

"I'm Red Robin and this is Superboy," the masked one gestured to his companion, who was sulking grimly towards them.

"Nice to meet you. Hopefully for the first and last time," Red Robin stated and the real screams of terror began.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

"Today," Dick sat a white game board box down on his desk, patting it fondly, "we'll be playing a fun game of Twister." Damian, sitting near the back, smacked his head against his palm.

"Twister?" A first year Slytherin asked, confusion and wariness on his face.

"Twister," Dick confirmed with a nod. "It's a fun American pass-time game. Not like football or anything, but still fun to pass the time. It helps with flexibility, as well." The students began to share whispers and giggles, all of them wondering when playing games would help in self defense.

"Why," Dick continued as a far away expression slunk onto his face, "when I was a kid, my parents would make me play this game with the other kids, to see how flexible I was. The more I played, the better I got when it came to…uh…y'know, doing stuff." Dick rubbed the back of his neck, his eyebrows scrunching up together slightly.

Giggles broke out amongst the more perverted first years. Damian rolled his eyes, muttering something akin to, 'children' under his breath.

"So, get into groups of 4 or 5 students, all of you. Once you are in your groups, I'll explain what to do next," Dick instructed and the students blinked before the sounds of chairs scrapping against the stone flooring sounded.

Damian remained seated, glaring at anyone (mostly the females) who'd shift over to him. As if they were actually going to be in a group with him! Hah! Damian gave a soft snort, smirking to himself. A heavy hand fell o his shoulder and he looked to see Dick smiling at him.

"Ms. Twix, would you mind having Damian in your group? You're one person short," Dick explained and the girl squeaked and nodded, her face red. Damian cursed under his breath, glaring at Dick.

"Okay, cool, cool. We've got our groups together. Awesome, alright. Let's do this. Okay, so, here's the rules," Dick started and went on to list the rules. The students stared at him with blank faces.

"What?" All of them, minus the muggle-borns, asked.

"….Example! You need an example. Um, Damian! Come here with your group. Okay, thank you, now," Dick moved the group into places around the mat. He grinned widely as he handed Damian the spinning board.

"Spin it," he suggested and watched as Damian flicked the spinner, eyes narrowed.

"Left foot blue," he announced and everyone watched as the girl of the group stepped on the blue circle with her left foot.

"You do this, in turns, until every member either gives up, falls, or cheats. Okay, now start," Dick instructed and watched as the children awkwardly looked to each other. He huffed, placing his hands on his hips in satisfaction.

"Here are you, My Lord," Severus spoke as he set the folder down on the long table, "a complete list of all the non-pure bloods at Hogwarts."

It was against everything he believed in; putting students in danger, but Dumbledore (still hiding and pulling the strings in the shadows) had insisted that Voldemort get the list. Why? Only the old man knew.

"Thank you Severus. Lucius informed me that you have a _muggle_," Voldemort hissed the word out, "teaching at Hogwarts. What is his name?" Ra's, sitting near the end of the table, looked up in interest. After all, it wasn't every year that Hogwarts opened its doors to non-magic folk.

"Richard Grayson, My Lord," Severus breathed out, watching how Ra's eyebrows shot up and his lips twitched into a cold smirk.

"Grayson, you say?" the man asked, leaning forward as he rested his hands on the table, palms pressed against the wood.

"Is Damian Al Ghul Wayne there as well?" Ra's asked, eyes wide. Severus shifted. Should he give away that the man's grandson was at school? Would that intervene with his master's plans?

"No, no, how stupid of me to ask. Of course he is. The magic world couldn't wait to get their stingy, weak little claws into him, could they. No matter," Ra's smirked as shadows casted along his face, "this makes everything all the better."

Snape mentally counted to ten, wondering if he was going to get a bonus for dealing with all these extra drama.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

He forgot how he got there. He had been wondering the halls, skipping flying class because, really, when did a BAT need to be taught to fly? With these thoughts in mind, he had been lingering around some stone pathways leading to mazes of paintings and portraits when he heard the familiar sounds of footsteps. In a blind (stupid) moment of panic, he had thought of wishing for an escape. One moment he was turning the corner and the next he was stumbling through an open doorway. Heavy wooden doors slammed shut behind him before disappearing, leaving him in his current situation.

"I swear," Damian growled, "when I get out of here, I am burning this school to the ground."

Damian walked around the room, taking note of the flickering fire in the fireplace, the black loveseat pushed against the wall and the lone coffee table in the middle of the room. The walls were stripped, bare and showing the cold stones of the actual castle. Damian huffed.

"No door," he mused and sighed, marching over to the couch. Slumping down and crossing his arms, Damian looked at the fire. He drew his knees up, placing his chin in the space between the knees. Closing his eyes, he let the soothing crackles of the wood fill the silence.

_Fire. Fire was everywhere. Burning into the flesh and smoldering the lungs of those who were unfortunate to get trapped in her falling body. Gotham, the mother who's arms were filled to the bring with the bodies of evil and good, crumbled as buildings exploded and rained down on her very children she loved and watched over. Little Sussie, who was big enough to punch the bullies of the block, disappeared under her Mother's shattering stone. Hussie, big and strong and working hard for his handi-capped mom, spat blood as the flames engulfed him. Gotham cried out as a man stood at the top of the world, the flames avoiding him and the crumbling towers falling away from him. The Moon, singing it's song as it laughed at the pitiful state of the city, casted long, bending shadows over the man. The man, figure twisting as the DEVIL crawled up him, watched with detached sadness._

"_I can't compare to _them,_" the man whispered in a broken voice, "but Gotham is my weapon now." _

Damian shot up, gasping as his eyes flickered around the room. Just as he moved a hand to wipe the sweat forming on his brow, the room shook and a door burst out of the stone walls. The double doors opened up and there stood Dick, Harry, and some weird creature.

"Damian!" Dick cried out as he rushed forward, arms spread out. Damian jumped out of the way, landing in front of the fire. Harry and the creature exchanged words before the creature popped out of view. Harry looked around the room and smiled widely, nodding to himself.

"This will do. I'll go inform the others," Harry spoke and turned on heel, walking away from the two. Dick gave a blubbering whine and turned, slumping out of the room as Damian followed behind him. The fire crackled loudly, making the boy stiffen. Looking back, his breath caught in his throat. His shadow was stretched up along the wall, swaying with the dancing flames. Screams echoed as-

"Dami?" Damian turned to see Dick standing at the entrance of the room, staring at him in concern. Dick shook his head and walked past the man, stalking down the hall. Dick looked back, eyes sweeping over the room with narrowed focus. Seeing nothing abnormal (besides the fact that the door had appeared out of nowhere) he followed after his young charge. The doors closed and faded, the fire snuffing out and the room falling to black.


	12. Dice Cast

**I am so sorry. I really am so, so, so sorry. D : This chapter is so short, this chapter isn't awesome, isn't wonderful, isn't anything what you want. I am so sorry. D : So, so so so so so sorry. **

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, PMed me, and basically told me to update. Thank you so much and sorry for taking so long. **

**On a side note, I've locked myself out of my email so if you need to contact me, use my gmail. **

**rachaelchrisw - do the whole at symbol gmail dot com. **

**Yeah.**

* * *

><p>The shadows twisted and curled, slinking away from the approaching footsteps. The figure, covered by the darkness, continued their trek, undeterred by the moving shadows. The figure moved with elegance, swaying like a cat.<p>

"Oh," the figure purred, "what do we have here?" The figure reached into the shadows, plucking up a glass orb. They twisted the orb in their gloved hand, expecting it in the moonlight.

"Lovely, isn't it?" A girl's voice spoke. The figure whirled, hidden eyes meeting blue. A girl, wearing a black, red, and white spandex Harlequin suit, stood there, messing with her hat.

"Harley," the figure greeted.

"Selina," Harley spoke, smiling. "Still stealing petty things, I see." Selina gave a sly smile, as if to say 'you-know-me'. Selina stepped into the small opening of moonlight, eyes gaining a lightened glow, like a cat's. She raised a thin eyebrow, taking in the jester before her.

"You know me," Selina shrugged, "same old, same old. Tell me Harley," Selina leaned forward, eyes locking in on the younger girl's, "what brought you here? Not that I don't love the visit, but usually you only show up if it is about the Joker or something involving a plan of yours. So, which is it?" Selina smile politely. Harley gave a snort, hands moving to rest up on her hips.

"We're planning something, Selina. Something big. We's were wonderin' if you'd join us. You'd get to steal something _pretty _valuable. Heavily guarded, death-penalty to all who try to steal it, yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah," Harley waved a hand, eyes rolling as she stopped trying to convince the girl. Selina's eyebrows rose, the woman sliding her goggles up to expose her wide, curious eyes.

"How big? How valuable? How much?" Selina slinked closer and closer, sliding around Harley. The jester shivered, feeling Selina's breath on her neck.

"A lot. A….interested party of sorts is after it. Mista J and I are with an opposing party who are also after it. Thing is, it's on a major lock down. Miles underground and all that hu-hah," Harley answered, turning her head to watch the feline slink about the enclosed space.

"Mista J's paying big bucks for you to get the item," Harley spoke up, "enough to challenge that Wayne guy." Selina stopped, her eyes widening for a fraction before they fell back into their half-lidded state.

"Oh," Selina purred, moving to wrap her arms loosely around Harley's shoulders. Harley giggled, wiggling from her grasp.

"Count me in," Selina spoke and she smirked. A beat of silence slipped past before her smirk fell and her serious eyes drew Harley in. "What are you getting into?" Selina asked. Harley gave a nervous little giggle, a tiny burst of sound before it died and she looked down.

"Mista J's met some…different people. The kind that'd give them 'super' people a run for their money. Europeans," Harley cleared up, as if that solved everything. "A storm's brewing, Selina. A storm that isn't the usual freak, alien, monster, or other. It's either the winning or losing side on this one."

"Which side are you on?" It was a faint whisper.

Harley just smiled faintly, her eyes glowing in the darkness. Selina frowned. Even with her white face paint, no matter how many layers she put on, Selina could still see the faint discoloration on the blond girl's cheek and neck. The cracked, split lip. The swollen wrist.

"No matter what," Selina turned, her heels clicking as she began to depart, "remember I am on your side, Harley. Us girls got to stick together after all." She fell into the shadows, gone.

Harley gave a deep inhale, exhaling shakily. She mumbled under her breath and was gone in the blink of an eye.

"What'd you hear?" Tim asked, looking to Conner. Conner gave him a side glance before looking back to the abandoned jewelry store.

"They're planning on stealing something. Something extremely important, it sounds like," Conner filled in. Tim frowned, his eyes narrowing behind his mask.

"We should report this to Dick. He needs to know." Tim rounded, using his grappling hook to take off. Conner followed, deep in thought.

* * *

><p>"Whatcha doing, old man?" The elderly man looked down, eyes shaded by the ceiling lights.<p>

"Nothing, you rude brat," the old man gruffly snapped, the little girl before him pouting.

"Aw, come on gramps," the girl spoke, her tone and words to masculine for her to look and sound natural, "don't be like that."

The bell hanging near the door chimed, alerting the two to someone's presence in their shop. The little girl looked to see no one near or at the front entrance. She tilted her head curious, looking to her grandfather, who huffed.

"Must be the wind," he decided and turned back to his newspaper. The girl nodded, giving one last glance to the entrance. She jumped and screamed, reeling backwards at the figure suddenly in front of her, towering over her with his intimidating built.

"Who are you? What do you want?" The old man demanded, grabbing hold of the child and drawing her behind his aging body. He reached a hand for one of his desk drawers but froze when a gun was pointed at him.

"Grab your little toothpick and risk having your hand blown into confetti," the stranger threatened, head covered by a red helmet.

"Please," the older man sobbed, hanging his head, "I have a child with me. Spare us." The stranger tilted his head to the side, considering it.

"Did this boy pass by here?" The stranger asked instead, holding up a photograph. The old man squinted, the lights giving off a glare that made it hard to see.

"I-I don't know. I can't say for sure," the old man stammered. The man in the helmet nodded, pocketing the picture.

"That'll do," he spoke and before they could blink, shot near the elderly man's ear. He howled, clutching his ear as blood began to seep through his fingers. The little girl cried out, her eyes wide and filled with tears.

"Again, did this boy pass by here?" The stranger repeated. The old man, body trembling, looked to the young intruder with eyes that were wide and unfocused.

"I-I don't know. I don't know, please! Please!" The man sobbed. The stranger lowered his gun, staring long and hard from behind his helmet.

"Let this be a warning to you," he spoke and in the blink of an eye, was gone. The old man crumbled to the ground, his body all but violently thrashing from the tremors. The little girl rushed to his side, crying for anyone or anything to help them.

Up on a roof top, hidden from view, a woman stood there with the stranger who had threatened the wailing pair below.

"Was that really necessary?" The woman asked, her eyes flickering to the man. The man snorted.

"Yeah," he grunted and without a room, dropped from the roof and blended in with the forming crowd, disappearing from sight.

* * *

><p>Dick groaned, hand flashing out of his cocoon of blankets to snag at his communicator, grasping it tightly.<p>

"Yeah?" Dick asked, scratching his chin as he blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"Tim, it's 2 in the morning. Can't this wait until, I dunno, 5?" Dick asked, eyelids starting to fall shut. Dick snapped his eyes open, shooting up to sit on his knees.

"What?" Blue eyes jerked and bounced about the chambers, taking in useless information as his mind worked. "Yeah, okay. I'll be there in a bit. See you soon," Dick parted and shut off his communicator. He threw the blankets off him, flipping out of bed and landing near his trunk. Taking his clothing, he quickly threw them on before looking around his living quarters. Nothing of importance was there, at the moment at least.

Nodding to himself, Dick left his room and descended the stairs, his mind set on where he had to go. He walked along the empty hall, eyebrow raising every so often when he saw a portrait hiss at his sudden disturbance. Shrugging his shoulders he continued on, eyes never clearing of their determined gleam.

"Grayson?" Dick shot a hand out, grabbing thin air as Damian landed behind him in a crouch, smirk in place.

"Dami," Dick perked up, smiling slightly before he frowned, "we've been called. The Joker's planning something and Tim wants us to come back." Damian stared into Dick's eyes, silently talking to him before he nodded and followed quietly after the man, who resumed his trek.

"What are you doing out of bed, anyways?" Dick asked, turning to look at Damian, Damian held up his communicator, a sly smirk tugging on his lips.

"You aren't the only one who gets called in the middle of the night, Grayson. How are we going to sneak out of this school?" Damian asked, looking at the hissing portraits in amusement.

"Holy talking portraits, Batman!" Dick exclaimed, electing a confused expression from Damian. "Sorry, habit," Dick chuckled and stood there for a second, brow narrowing in thought.

"We can fly there," Dick suggested, looking to Damian. "I've mapped out the entire school grounds. There's a nearby village we can get to by foot, maybe take no less than two hours at best, and then we can call for transportation from there. We don't want to cause a commotion this late at night, do we? I've already left a note for the other faculty members, so we should be clear," Dick explained. Damian raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't we just use the cabinet?" Damian questioned, Dick freezing. He turned to his shorter partner in curiosity. Damian sighed and began to walk, his footsteps light and soundless as he made his way down the corridor.

Around a corner, down a flight of stairs, past a few snoring portraits, up three flight of stairs, and a leap (flip and hand-stand and a few twirls in Dick's case) across a gap in the stone flooring had the two in front of a old, unused room.

"Where did you find this?" Dick asked. Damian shrugged. "I skipped potions," Damian answered and made his way in, letting Dick close the door behind him. They came to stop in front of a cobweb covered cabinet, the dark wood looming over them in the poorly lit room.

Damian pulled his wand out and, with a small snort, muttered an incantation, one Dick barely caught, before hiding his wand again.

"You coming?" Damian smirked and opened the cabinet, slipping inside without a look back. Dick blinked, leaned in slightly, narrowed his eyes, and cautiously followed suit. The cabinet shut beside them and the room was again incased in silence.

It felt like they had been walking for years. Endless footsteps followed and echoed around them, Dick taking in their bleak, almost non-existent surroundings as Damian continued to lead. On and on they went, never stopping, never pausing, never slowing or speeding their pace. It was beginning to disorient Dick.

"We're here," Damian piped up.

There they were indeed. In front of them was an oak door that Dick never noticed was in front of them. Damian walked through, Dick following. As the older man was stepping out of the cabinet, he froze mid-step.

"Uh…Dami, why are we in my room?"

Damian looked over to Dick, a smug expression on his face.

"I had the magical harlot fix it for me. I contacted her after discovering the Vanishing Cabinet charm and had her help me to connect the two cabinets. Of course, she made it to where only a certain spell would connect your cabinet to the one at Hogwarts," Damian explained.

"Zatanna did that? Really?" Dick asked, sounding surprised. Damian merely glanced away before barging out the door, going down the hall as loudly as possible, as if on purpose.

"I see you've returned home, Master Richard, Master Damian," Alfred greeted, donned in a night cap and his silk pajamas. Dick gave a sheep smile, patting the aging man on the shoulder.

"Sorry for the rude wake-up call, Alfred. You can go back to sleep. We've just got some-" Dick was interrupted by a frustrated holler.

"Get away from me you devil spawn!" Tim cried out, bursting out of his room, his hair sticking up and his eyes sleep-deprived. Damian marched out after the boy, glaring.

"Pennyworth," Damian greeted before turning his attention back to Tim. "Drake! Explain to me why, after informing us of the trouble brewing, you are in bed?" Damian seethed.

"Uh," Tim rubbed the back of his head as he yawned, "because I can't very well fight crime with two hours of sleep, Demon." Dick gave a chuckled and bounced over, smacking Tim on the shoulder in greeting.

"Yes, yes, trouble brewing. I believe, as it is 4 in the morning, this can wait until morning. Off to bed, all of you," Alfred chimed in, popping up in front of the trio. Damian opened his mouth, no doubt to snap about Alfred's tone, but it was closed by Dick, who hauled Damian over his shoulder and moved to their rooms. Tim watched with a bemused expression before he too retired to his room, eyelids heavy and mouth open in a yawn.

"They're planning on stealing something?" Dick asked, looking up from his eggs. Tim nodded, pouring himself some orange juice. Damian huffed, raising an eyebrow.

"The Joker's in Europe somewhere, from what you know, planning to steal something? Do you have any details of what that something is?" Damian asked. Tim shook his head, sighing.

"No. Only smart thing Harley's good for is knowing when to leave details out," Tim grumpily answered, scowling into his oatmeal. Damian hissed to himself and narrowed his eyes.

"Stupid," Damian childishly muttered under his breath, causing Tim to shoot a glare in his direction.

"What did you mutter, brat? Better not be cursing me with that new-found magic, you hear?" Tim growled.

"Any word from Jason?" Dick asked, looking up from his newspaper, having emerged himself in the black ink when he felt the bickering start. Tim looked to his older brother, a frown tugging on his lips.

"Strangely, it's been quiet. There hasn't been any sight of him. I don't know if he's laying low or what," Tim explained and Dick nodded, stretching.

"If you need me, I'm going to be in my room," Dick excused himself, standing up from the table. Damian snorted, messing with his soggy cereal.

"Something wrong, brat?" Tim asked, eyes zeroing on him as if the mere fact he was breathing was wrong.

"Just thinking of this strumpet I met at school," Damian spoke. Tim's spoon clattered along the porcelain bowl as a bang sounded from upstairs. Alfred gave a disapproving stare as Dick flailed into the kitchen, a bump growing on his forehead.

"Did you just use the word strumpet?" Dick cried out, alarmed. "Dami, what have we told you about those horrible, nasty, vile, degrading names! Your language needs a washing." Damian stared up at his guardian, unamused.

"Who's the slut?" Tim asked, curious as he sent a crude smile towards Damian. Damian huffed, crossing his arms.

"She's a teacher, though with her mere existence, she probably is still a virgin," he stated. Tim hooted in laughter, Dick frowning at the display he was seeing.

"Damian, that's not nice. You can't assume that about Ms. Umbridge just because of her child-hating personality," Dick scolded. Damian raised an eyebrow.

"Her entire office is filled with motion pictures of cats. Literally motion pictures. They move. All these plates of cats." Softly to himself, Damian whispered, "I want them."

"Okaaaaay," Dick leaned back, "anyways. Let's get down to business."


	13. Interlude: Scenes that never were

**Reaper: **This is a little filler chapter, written mostly because some people wanted some stuff mentions or wanted written into the story but because of how everything is playing out, wouldn't really fit. So I wrote them into short little things and clumped them together and ta-dah! Hope you like them. A few things - some facts/ethnic groups mentioned might not be correct. I am sorry if I made any mistakes. Please correct me if I did anything wrong. Enjoy?

* * *

><p><strong>Unicorns are for the pure.<strong>

Damian would admit, later to himself without anyone around, that he made a mistake. You couldn't blame him, though, since it wasn't really his fault that the old castle was so _tight_. It didn't matter how big it seemed, he barely had any breathing room in the halls. So, really, you couldn't blame him when he decided to sneak into the Forbidden Forest by himself.

In hindsight, yeah, he should have taken Grayson or Potter or _someone _with him, but he just needed to breathe. And breathe did he do. The boy ran and jumped and flipped around, sucking in the magic in the air that swam through the leaves and the branches and the dirt and just let go. He had felt so cramped in the stone walls of the school.

Damian stopped upon a clearing, controlling his breathing as he tilted his head up to look at the crescent moon. His eyes slipped closed as the night breeze caressed his flushed face, cooling him down.

SNAP.

Damian's eyes shot open and in a second he was crouched on the ground, a knife in hand from one of his many hidden pockets of his clothing, his sight darting around the clearing for the source of the sound.

What he saw was not what he expected.

A horse stepped into his line of sight, its color that of freshly fallen snow. A sharp, glistening horn sat upon its head. Its limbs were thin and long, soundless as it walked further into the clearing until it was a few feet from Damian.

"…unicorn," Damian breathed out, his fingers going limp around his knife. It fell to the ground with a dull thunk but he gave no notice as he continued to stare at the unicorn. An almost transparent glow seemed to cocoon the beast, giving it a holy shine.

A single tear slid down his cheek, and the unicorn blinked slowly with it. The unicorn's dark, black eyes bore into Damian's and, for some odd reason, he could only compare the swirling darkness of the gaze to the faint glow the Lazarus Pit. He shook his head, wondering why he suddenly thought of that blasted thing, and turned his attention back to the unicorn.

The unicorn bowed its head slightly, letting its horn point to Damian's forehead. Damian stiffened and clenched his fists, wondering why he felt so scared suddenly at the movement. It was a unicorn, of course, so why would he be scared of the magical animal?

"Unicorns are a symbol of purity," a male's low voice spoke from behind Damian and the boy whirled, taking in the sight of a centaur. The centaur nodded his head and locked eyes with the unicorn before glancing to Damian again.

"For a unicorn to approach one, they must be pure," the centaur continued before turning. As if that were his only reason for coming, the beast galloped back into the forest. Damian stared for a second before turning back to the unicorn, who looked at him with shining eyes. Damian's hands shook as he clenched and unclenched them.

"Thank you," Damian whispered and the unicorn gave a little shake of its head before turning and leaving. Damian looked down and released a breath, wondering why the unicorn had appeared in the first place.

_For a unicorn to approach one, they must be pure…_

Damian looked down at his hands, hands he used to think stank of blood and death, and gave a soft laugh as all he saw were the hands of a child. Though scars and discoloration marked his flesh and broken bones changed their shape, his hands were still the hands of a child – pure and clean.

"Thank you," he whispered and again and the wind took his words. Deciding it was time to go back, he walked towards the school.

* * *

><p><strong>If you were a student, you'd be a Ravenclaw.<strong>

"Y'know, I think Tim would be a Ravenclaw," Dick spoke one night as Damian cuddled under the covers of the man's bed. It was another night of Damian sneaking into his chambers to sleep, nightmares and home-sickness taking hold of him. Damian paused in his burrowing to stare at Dick, his eyes narrowing at the name.

"Drake? A Ravenclaw? I could see that," Damian spoke, giving a tiny snort at the thought. Dick gave a chuckle.

"I mean, out of all of us, he's the only one who could match Bruce in his deductions skills. Tim was the brains, we were the brawns," Dick chuckled as he decided that. Damian rolled his eyes.

"Todd would be in Slytherin then," Damian countered. Dick perked up, his lips tugging into a sad smile at the thought of his brother.

"He's certainly cunning enough. He always made the best of plans. If only he didn't act to brash about them," Dick agreed and gave a soft sigh as he closed his eyes.

"Cassandra would probably be in Slytherin as well because, well, it's Cassandra," Dick spoke. Damian nodded.

"Brown would be Gryffindor," Damian spoke and Dick nodded, fully agreeing. "Yeah, she would! Hah!" He gave a laugh at the thought and then smiled.

"Barbara would either be Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," he spoke and bobbed his head. Damian huffed, shaking his head.

"You'd be in Gryffindor," Damian spoke and when Dick looked at him with shock and pride, he ducked his head under the covers to hide his heating cheeks. "Never mind! Grayson, you'd be in Hufflepuff!" Dick shot him a mock-wounded look and flopped down on top of Damian, causing the boy to grunt as Dick whined like a child about how much Damian hurt him.

Somewhere, the Bat-Family sneezed and wondered who was talking about them.

Alfred, pausing from making himself something to drink, wondered if Master Drake was coming down with a cold as the boy came in grumble while sniffling.

* * *

><p><strong>It's from me to you for your ancestors, or something.<strong>

It wasn't rare that students developed crushes on their professors. Rather, it was expected. No matter the school, the student, or the professor, crushes were always there. Look at the components – the students are surrounded by the same people for how many days of the year for how many hours of the days for how many years. If they can't find a student/child of their own age who meets their requirements of developing romantic feelings, who would? Someone older, someone wiser, someone who had experience under their hold. Teachers were people who had respect. Students looked up to these adults who acted as second parents in raising children. It was common to develop a crush on a teacher who, as a duty, gave you attention and cared for you more than themselves (depending on the teacher). Therefore, it wasn't a shock when a sixth year Hufflepuff student found their good friend, Abigail Glassheart, pining for one Richard Grayson. Who couldn't?

Richard "Dick" Grayson was a young muggle teacher, looking to be in his early twenties. From his teachings, his body was well toned and shaped for the physical activities he dealt in. His skin was pale (as if he never saw the sun) but at the same time, he had an odd dark coloring one would find in Eastern European Romani people. Rose Casterfield (friend of Abigail and a loyal Hufflepuff), whose grandmother had married a Romani man for a handful of years (before it went to hell when he was caught molesting his own son), had kept pictures of the man as a way to repent for loving such a evil man and so Rose was well familiar with the looks of a Romani person. If anyone were to have asked her the day Professor Grayson was introduced to the students, she'd honestly answer that she knew he was of the Romani blood the moment she laid eyes on him. They had a seductive, elegant look to them, as if to beg for forgiveness when everyone else hated the ethnic group.

Back on track, no one could blame Abigail for crushing on Professor Grayson. With how unattractive the other male professors were (unless you counted the oddly disturbing way that Professor Snape could look utterly appealing in certain lights), he was the only good-looking male around.

Abigail, herself, was raised by muggle parents. She could only bless this as, when she found out he was called by the term gypsy (what an ugly name, she thought), she automatically remembered the old story her mother would read to her, _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_. She remembered the woman who was called a gypsy, who had been branded as a witch. A witch. Did that mean that maybe, just maybe, Professor Grayson had magic in him, just sleeping and buried from the thinning of his lineage as the generations passed?

On her off days, Abigail would study up on the Romani culture, drinking in the history. Many students began to mistake her for a Ravenclaw, if only because she had begun to live in the library when she wasn't in classes or eating in the Great Hall. She studied the language, the birth of the term 'gypsy' (who knew that they had mistaken the Eastern European group to be from Egypt which led to them being called gypsies?) She learned of their customs, their heritage, and finally found out about their folklore and their respect of the magical aspects of the world.

A few trips to Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley found her with a few desired items that she knew, without a doubt, would make Professor Grayson very happy.

Finally the day came when she'd confess her feelings to him. She had stayed behind after classes, Rose lingering at the door before giving her a shy thumb up. Abigail nodded and smiled back widely before sliding up to Professor Grayson, who gave her a curious look. Abigail presented to him a small box and asked for him to open the box.

Dick looked at the box, deciding it was harmless, and opened the present. Inside laid a large shell, a simple but beautifully painted swallow covering the shell.

"I….I read that your Romani ancestors believed in carrying around talismans, or pocket deities as they called it, and that they…um, that they thought the swallow to be lucky. _Bax _um _–Baxtalo. _Lucky. Uh, I-I wanted to give you something to remember your blood and your family and the rich history that you seem to carry. Ah, uh, and, um, um," Abigail tugged on her hair, her face flaming at Dick continued to stare speechless at the shell.

"Thank you," he whispered softly and Abigail jumped, her eyes wide as she heard the soft, gentle tone in his voice. "Thank you. I know so little of my family's culture, of my heritage besides what my family taught me. I know the language, as my father insisted that I learn that first before English, but that's about it. It brought up old wounds, learning about them and the history that flowed in their blood, so I never tried to learn more than I needed," Dick spoke and Abigail panicked for a moment. Oh god, was she making him upset then? She hadn't meant to and she realized how selfish she seemed now and-

"I am sorry, though, but I can't accept the feelings you want from this," he spoke again and Abigail's heart sank. She shook her head.

"I-I know," she spoke and rung her hands along the hem of her skirt, "I just…I think you are a amazing professor, an amazing person, and thought I could at least, I don't know what I was think, pay respect to the fact that you are here and teaching us…?" Abigail trailed off as tears gathered. She took a step back, gave a small bow of her head, and rushed out of the room as her tears fell.

Crushes, as they were, were bittersweet when you fell for the wrong person.

Dick stood there, his fingers rubbing along the ridges of the shell, before he tucked it into his pocket. Pocket deities, he decided, wouldn't do him any harm if he tried them out.

* * *

><p><strong>Always a first time for anything.<strong>

Damian stared down at the man before him, glaring. The old man had, for some reason, been delighted to meet Damian. Said he was an interesting young man, only one other boy had been, or something like that. Damian hadn't listened. The man's face had pissed him off too badly.

"Here, try this," the man spoke and handed Damian a wand. Damian looked at the wand, droning out the man's explanation of what the wand was made of. Who cared? It was a piece of wood.

"Give it a flick," the old man, Oliver or Alexander of something, instructed and Damian had to bite down the snap at being ordered to do something. Ollivander watched, eagerly, as the boy gave a small flick of the wrist with the wand. Behind him, a few boxes exploded into flames. He frowned.

"Not that one," he spoke and plucked the wand out of Damian's hand and handed him another one. Flick of the wrist and a glass vase near the door broke.

New wand, flick, door broke off the hinge. New wand, flick, more boxes burst into flames. New wand, flick, new wand, flick, new wand….

"….this is quite a challenge," Ollivander muttered, tired. Dick, Damian's guardian and soon-to-be muggle teacher at Hogwarts, was watching all of this with amusement.

"Try this one," Ollivander muttered with uncertainty. After all, this wand, this wand that he was about to give the boy was a wand he had wished to just hide from the world forever. He had made it, yes, but he regretted it. But, for some reason, this wand could…could maybe very well be Damian's wand.

He brought the wand out, watching how Damian glared at it. He wondered if that's why the wands hated him, he glared too much. After all, you didn't choose the wand, the wand chooses you.

He raised his hand, flicking the wand. Instead of anything breaking or someone dying (really, he was exaggerating), sparks of red, yellow, black, and green shot out of the tip of the wand and shaped little robin birds and bats and cats and other gentle, graceful mammals and circled around the boy, whose eyes went wide with awe. Ollivander gave a tight smile, though inwardly he gave a resigned sigh.

"That is your wand," he whispered as Damian stared at the wand, "and with it, you will find great power." Damian paid and left, leaving Ollivander to wonder why such a boy would have such a powerful wand.


End file.
